


The Cat's Out Of The Bag

by thermometerslug



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Best Friends, Complete, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Humor, Love Triangles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 05:36:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 68,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13140165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thermometerslug/pseuds/thermometerslug
Summary: Originally posted on FF.netMorgana is hopelessly in love with Ann Takamaki; however, after learning that her heart was stolen by a man whom he never considered could ever get a girl like her, and worse that those involved actively hid it from him, Morgana faces a tough choice between his friends and the woman he loves.





	1. Chapter 1

"Dammit!" Ryuji cried out as he collapsed onto the nearby railing. His leg was on fire, every muscle in his body was completely tensed up as he struggled to stand up off of the railing. He had been running in the park, trying to clear his head of everything that had happened and was happening. All this shit, it bothered him. Ryuji continued to pant as he stretched his leg out in an attempt to relax it when a familiar voice.

"Ryuji?" the voice said to him. He turned to see his friend Ann Takamaki, still in her school uniform, approaching him.

"Hey Ann," he exhaled painfully.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he reassured her, "I-" he attempted to stand up before crying out in pain and falling back onto the railing, "Shit!"

"Are you sure you're okay?" Ann asked.

"Yeah! I'm fine!" he blew her off, "It's just my leg, it does this sometimes." he tried putting some pressure on it, but to no avail.

"..." Ann looked at Ryuji's leg, "You ever think about going to a doctor?"

"Well the doctor told me to stop running," he continued to stretch his leg out, keeping straight as he lightly touched his toes to the ground, "Ahh- Eff that guy tough, I'm not gonna give up on my favorite activity."

"You can't run less?" Ann leaned up on the rail next to him.

"I barely ran 3 miles," he closed his eyes, "I use to run 10...15 miles a day… now I'm down to doing shit I did back in elementary school."

"That sucks," Ann crossed her arms, looking down at the dirt as she kicked it around, "You ever try yoga?"

"That girly shit?" he laughed.

"It's not that girly! A guy teaches the class. Besides, it does wonders for sore limbs and bones," she explained, "I take a class every Thursday! You should come with me, try it out."

"No," he said bluntly.

"Come on, it'll be fun," she teased him, "Besides… I need your help."

"With what?" he asked.

"I still need a workout plan!" she cried out, "Ryuji. I've put on 7 pounds in two weeks!" she slightly lifted her shirt up, pinching her stomach to show Ryuji that fat that had built up, "7 POUNDS! Look at that! So gross!"

"A lotta guys like love handles," he told her, leaning over and giving her a slightly pinch, "They're kinda cute."

"I don't!" she slapped his hand away, "I need your help. You're really fit! I need you to help me lose weight Ryuji!"

"Stop eating!" he told her, "Just go to the gym and stop eating junk food! It's not rocket science Ann."

"Pleeeeease," she begged him with crocodile tears in her eyes, "7 pounds will turn to 20 and then turn to 100 and pretty soon I'll be one of those freaks on TV who weight over 500 pounds and can't leave the bed and..."

"Fine! God you're pushy!" Ryuji gave in, "I'll go to your gay little Yoga thing and then I'll help you make a workout and diet plan." he finally stood up, his leg still pulsing with pain, but now at a manageable level, "Just do me a favor, because I'm pretty sure I know why you've gained all that weight, but can you write down all the shit you eat?"

"I guess," Ann scratched her head, "See you Thursday!"

"Eff…" Ryuji sighed as he limped away.

* * *

"Why did I agree to this shit? I gotta do this gay dumbass yoga shit… if she shows up in that stupid school uniform..." Ryuji mumbled to himself as he walked into the gym Ann had texted to meet her at. The gym was very new, several levels with tons of workout equipment. Ryuji didn't see any weights or manly workout items, just a bunch of girly workout items and loads of treadmills, looking at a sign on the wall stating where everything was, weights in the basement along with the indoor track. The place was a real girls gym with a spa and water massage machines.

"Hey Ryuji!" Ann walked over to him. Ryuji breathed a sigh of relief as she was not wearing her school gym outfit. Instead, she was wearing proper workout attire: yoga pants and a somewhat baggy t-shirt with some sort of cat logo on it. She approached him, a small journal in her hands that she presented to Ryuji.

"What's this?" he took it from her, opening it to seeing several listed entries written in cursive.

"My list!" she told him, "As you can see I'm just eating normal stuff teenage girls eat and..."

"Ann, you ate 4 crepes yesterday!" Ryuji gasped, "That's like 800 calories right there! And you know how much sugar that shit is loaded with!"

"I've eaten crepes before! They got strawberries in them, those are healthy!" Ann defended herself, "I've never gained any weight before!"

"Well it all went to your breasts," he looked directly at her chest.

"..." Ann blushed and slapped him again, "Asshole!"

"Well it did!" Ryuji explained, "Since middle school you've had huge honkers!"

"Why the hell have you been paying attention to the size of my breasts since middle school!?" she continued to blush, "Never mind, I don't wanna figure out the inner workings of your pervy mind. Let's just go to yoga."

"Seriously Ann, just cut it down to like one or two crepes a day and you'll be fine," Ryuji looked at the journal, "Least you're not drinking soda. That shit packs on the pounds."

"I hate carbonated beverages," she explained as they walked up the stairs to the yoga studio, "I get sick if I drink too much." the two walked to the yoga studio, "After this we should run on the treadmill, I bet I can beat you!"

"Beat me?" he looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "Treadmills aren't competition Ann."

"Well what do you run at on a treadmill?" she asked, "I like to do 5."

"5? That's cool down shit," he told her, "I do like a minute at 7, then 8, and I continue upwards to about 12."

"12!?" she gasped, "… I could probably do that."

"I can barely do 12," he told her, "It's like 15 seconds at 12. Why don't we run 10 laps on the track downstairs?"

"Deal! I bet I'll run laps around you!" Ann bragged. Ann set down her yoga mat, setting another one down in front of Ryuji, letting him borrow an old one of hers since Ryuji didn't own a mat. He never had even been to the section of a sporting goods store that sold yoga mats and all that stuff. Ryuji looked around and saw he was one of the only guys in the room. However, the girls were something else. All these chicks in tight pants that accentuated their figures.

Eventually, the teacher entered the room. Everything about him was completely effeminate: the sound of his voice, the way he walked, his hair. Ryuji was surprised how buff the guy was for doing all this yoga shit. Then the actual Yoga began and it was every bit as dumb as Ryuji thought it would be. The dumb mantras and the stupid stretches and the flute music that was blaring over the room's stereo system, Ryuji was so glad this was not his regular gym because if it was, then he'd have to quit. Ryuji looked over at Ann, going wide eyed as he saw Ann's entire leg behind her head as she stood on the tippy toes of her other leg. Ryuji tried to follow the instructor's example, not coming anywhere near the expert level of flexibility that everyone else in the class had. Eventually after exercise and exercise of complex stretches the class ended and Ryuji made a B-line for the exit.

"Oh my god that was soooo stupid!" he bemoaned, "Let's go running!"

"You did well for a first timer!" Ann told him, "Plus all those girls huh?" she elbowed him in the gut.

"I mean the girls aren't that bad," he watched the girls exiting the class, "… shit, I might have to come back again."

"I'd like a Yoga partner!" Ann smiled, "No one else wants to do it with me for some reason... I asked Akira and he told me he had no interest."

"I wonder why..." Ryuji smugly teased her.

"What's that suppose to mean?" she angrily asked him.

"Nothing," he chuckled, "Come on, don't you wanna race me?"

"Oh yeah!" she almost forgot, "I guarantee I'll beat you! I've never run more than a mile before, but I bet I can beat you!"

"Alright..." he walked towards the stairs with her, heading to the lowest level where there was a large indoor track. Ryuji looked at a sign on the wall which stated that one lap was one-fifth of a mile. He looked at Ann who placed the yoga mats down by the wall as she headed onto the track.

"You ready?" she teased him, "If you beat me maybe I'll reward you with a date."

"..." Ryuji rolled his eyes, "I'm gonna do you a favor and reject your bet since it wouldn't be fair in any sense." the two racers took their marks.

"Get ready to eat my dust Ryuji..." Ann smirked.

* * *

"Oh my god!" Ann was panting with her hands on the wall, beads of sweat pouring off of her face as Ryuji stood by with his hands in his short pockets, "Running sucks!"

"Ann you ran two laps," he looked at her, "You didn't even run half a mile. You sprinted for half a loop, then barely managed to finish what you did… how is a girl with your body so outta shape?"

"My chest is on fire," she clenched her t-shirt and picked at it to blow some cold air in her face, "Why on earth would you find this fun?"

"Ann I'm not even breathing heavily," he reached down for his bottle of water, handing it to her, "It's got protein powder in it."

"Is that a lot of calories?" she asked.

"No… but you're gonna have to lift weights with me to burn it out," he watched her almost down the whole bottle. Ann continued to pant as she shoved the bottle into Ryuji's hands.

"… I don't think I have the energy to go on," Ann cried out, "I need sugary crepes!"

"If you lift weights with me then you can get a crepe," he comforted her. Ann smiled as she regained her strength and walked with Ryuji to a sectioned off area within the gym that contained all the weight lifting machines.

"Will you spot me?" he asked her.

"Spot?" she asked.

"Oh my god did you pay no attention in PE at all?" he asked her.

"I tried not to!" she knocked on his head, "The teacher was a bit of a huge asshole!"

"We learned this shit in middle school!" Ryuji told her.

"We didn't lift weights in middle school! The guys did that, the girls just ran and played volleyball!"

"Then why do you suck at running?" Ryuji asked her.

"Just… shut up and I'll 'spot' you," she walked over by the bench press. Ryuji walked over to the weight station, grabbing several weights and throwing them onto the bar. Ryuji loaded each side up with about 50 pounds before lying down on the bench.

"… Are you sure that you can spot me?" Ryuji asked her, "You do realize you gotta help me."

"I can do it!" she defended herself, "It's not that hard to understand." She nodded at Ryuji as he nodded back. Ryuji took the bar off the rack and brought the bar down to his chest, Ann holding onto the bar.

"Ann-" he grunted as he pushed the bar up, "You don't hold the bar the whole time!"

"Sorry!" she let go and stood slightly back. Ryuji continued to do a few more reps as they got slower and slower before bringing the final rep down to his chest, struggling to push it up.

"A-A-Ann," he grunted out, he looked back, trying to hold the bar up as he saw Ann texting on her phone, "Ann!"

"Huh?" she looked up, "Oh shit I'm sorry!" she ran over and pulled the bar up as hard as she could, bring it up with Ryuji to the resting place.

"Damn it Ann!" Ryuji gasped as he sat up, "You gotta pay attention!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" she apologized, "I thought you had it."

"You just gotta be careful Ann, people get hurt in places like this," he told her as she looked to the ground in a dejected manner, "It's fine, just be careful. Now come on, your turn." he pointed to the bench. Ann sat down, lying back as Ryuji began to take weights off the bar.

"Wait? Why are you taking weights off?" she asked.

"Because you can't handle it," he told her, "We'll try 5 pounds on each side at first." he put two small weights on each side. Ryuji took Ann's hands, a faint blush on his face as he gripped her hands onto the bar. Ann took a deep breath, lifting the bar down onto her chest; bouncing it off of her breasts and bringing it back up.

"Easy!" she laughed.

"Yeah...uh," Ryuji began to heavily blush, "Don't, uh, bounce it off of your boobs. You're gonna bruise them."

Ann blushed then let out a small giggle, "Thanks… I guess." she let the bar fall back down, making sure it didn't hit her and bringing it back up. She repeated this motion for a few more reps before growing tired, Ryuji grabbing the bar and easily pulling it back into place for Ann.

"Nice job!" Ryuji complimented her, "You did good for your first time."

"That was fun," she got up off the bench, "What other machines do you use in here?"

"Well there's a few others that work out some other muscles," he told her, "I like the leg press the best. Helps to strengthen my bum leg."

"Let's do that," she smiled.

"Hey man!" a guy approached Ryuji and Ann, "Tell your girlfriend to wipe down the bench!"

"Oh I'm sorry," she grabbed the towel out of Ryuji's hands and began to wipe it down. Ryuji was slightly embarrassed, some guy mistaking Ann for his girlfriend. Although, it didn't feel all that bad, having a girlfriend would be awesome and especially if it was one as hot as Ann with those tits and that ass and, well, everything about her, Ann apologized to the man, explaining it was her first time before heading off to the leg press.

The two continued to work out for quite some time, hitting up most of the machines in the area. Ann was surprisingly into the whole weight lifting scene and Ryuji was having fun actually being able to teach someone something. The two ended their workout with a light run on the treadmill, Ryuji and her keeping up a nice casual pace.

"Woo!" Ann laughed as they exited the gym, "That was great! Thanks Ryuji."

"That was fun," Ryuji smiled, "We should do this more often."

"Keep coming to my Yoga class and I'll keep working out with you," Ann teased him before her stomach let out a huge growl, "God I'm starving? You wanna get some ramen or something?" she asked him.

"Uh… sure!" he smiled.

* * *

"Mmmmmm," Ann scarfed down the ramen, sitting to Ryuji's right at the bar, "This might be the best bowl of ramen I've ever had! So good!" she continued to eat, "I could eat two more bowls."

"Don't overeat now," he took a slurp of noodles, "You're gonna be really sore tomorrow after working out so hard so just take it easy."

"It was my first time," she joked, "A girl can make some exceptions when it comes to her diet," she took a bite of the hardboiled egg in the bowl, "So how about that guy who called me your girlfriend? Funny, huh?"

"Yeah," he smiled, "Funny..." he thought to himself. He had this odd feeling stirring around in his gut as he watched Ann eat. Ryuji was beginning to deal with something he had never thought of before, was he feeling _feelings_ for Ann? Ann was a great friend and a wonderful girl and, his mind was racing a mile a minute, "Speaking of boyfriends, how's Akira?"

"Huh?" she asked.

"You two are… dating, right?" Ryuji asked.

"No," she told him.

"Really?" Ryuji, "You two aren't… you guys were hanging out and stuff and I just assumed…"

"Well I thought he might've been interested in me, but…" Ann sighed, "He's kinda a weird guy to be quite honest."

"He's our fearless leader," Ryuji chuckled. The two continued small talking for quite some time over dinner before going their separate ways. On the train ride home, Ryuji continued to try to understand what he was feeling about Ann, this sick feeling in his stomach.

* * *

_Ryuji: Akira U Up?_

Akira looked at his phone. Currently, Akira was playing video games while Morgana sat in the chair next to him, licking himself in his most intimate of places. Akira put the game on pause, grabbing the phone and texting back.

_Akira: Yeah?_

_Ryuji: Listen man. I need your advice on what to do when you like a girl?_

_Akira: …Ask her out…?_

Morgana looked over at the phone and laughed, "Ryuji likes someone? That poor girl!" Morgana laughed himself on the floor.

_Akira: Who is she?_

_Ryuji:… I can't say… just help me out man, Do I just ask her out? What if she says no?_

_Akira: Then you move on. Man up._

_Ryuji:… Thanks man, I guess it really is that simple… you're so smart! Wish me luck._

"What do you think Akira?" Morgana asked him.

"I think Ryuji's gonna be single for quite some time," Akira told Morgana as they both began to laugh and returned to their video games.

* * *

It was the following Thursday, the two teenagers exiting the gym after another workout routine of yoga, lifting weights, and running.

"Another great workout!" she smiled, "We did good in there." She raised her hand for a high-five, Ryuji lightly giving her one as she giggled.

"You've really improved in one week," Ryuji encouraged her; "You almost did three or four more reps than last time."

"And you managed to lift your legs several inches higher than last time, I think," she tried to encourage him back.

"You wanna get some crepes?" Ryuji asked, "My treat."

"Oh yeah!" she giggled, "I can't turn down crepes, especially crepes bought by a guy." She ran off, with Ryuji following behind her as they walked down the crowded street. Ryuji felt like an enormous weight on his chest, the prospect of asking Ann out was truly terrifying. He could picture it now, her laughing and rejecting him and then telling everyone about how much of a loser he was and all the guys in school bullying him and every thought after the last grew worse and worse. Ann eventually found her way to the crepe stand, buying two crepes as Ryuji paid for them. The two sitting down on a nearby bench across from some sort of TV shop.

"So... I've really enjoyed spending all this time with you these past couple of weeks," Ryuji spoke to her.

"I have too," Ann smiled.

"And I wanna continue to do it," Ryuji told her.

"I would like that as well," Ann said back to him, "Are you free tomorrow because I wanted to buy a new Yoga mat and you could buy one of your own rather than just using my old one," she explained before Ryuji interrupted her.

"I mean, I would like to… go on a date with you," Ryuji gulped as butterflies flew all around his stomach.

"Oh!" Ann blushed, "A date? Uhm, okay."

"Really?" Ryuji asked, "You're serious! You answered so fast that had to be a joke, right?" his voice slightly squeaked.

"Sure," Ann told him, "What did you want to do?"

"I, uh, wanna take you to… uh… Suidobashi," he told her.

"The Theme Park?" she asked, "Sounds like fun."

"When are you free?" Ryuji asked her.

"Saturday afternoon after school okay with you?" she asked, "I got a couple of errands to run, but what if I meet you there?"

"Okay," Ryuji smiled.

"Alright," Ann smiled back, "I'll see you Saturday then." Ann got up and walked away, Ryuji watching her sway as he was completely engulfed in a warm feeling of pure numbness, he felt as if his nerves had turned to complete steel as he achieved the impossible. He reveled in his victory for quite some time.

" _Holy shit, I actually did it,_ " he thought, " _I'm going on a date with a girl! Ann! I never felt like this before, I never felt these things about Ann before_." he pulled his phone out, getting ready to text Akira before he stopped midway through the text, realize he needed real results before he could brag.

* * *

" _Ah fuck she stood me up!_ " Ryuji grimaced as he felt like a moron waiting in front of the theme park, It was about 20 minutes after the time the two of them had agreed on and there was no text from Ann nor any sign of her, " _I'm so fucking stupid. Of course she was kidding! What would a girl like that want to do with a guy like me. I bet her and Makoto and all the other girls are laughing it up as_ -", Ryuji internally panicked.

"Hey," Ryuji heard a familiar voice. He looked over to see waving as she approaching. She was wearing her usual black tank top with the white under shirt, her twin tails drifting over her shoulders. She had that checkered shirt tied around her waist and those jean shorts that extenuated her legs.

"Oh! You came!" Ryuji smiled, "I thought you ditched me."

"It's been 10 minutes," Ann queerly looked at him, "That insecure?"

"Well it's been 20 minutes actually..." he corrected her.

"So really really insecure," she looked at him.

"Well no, it's just..." Ryuji rubbed the back of his head, "Let's just start the date." he smiled at her, "So… what do you wanna do?"

"… I don't know," she blushed, "I guess we could walk around the park together."

"That works fine with me," he handed Ann a ticket. The two entered the park, walking around as they looked at all the rides and animals and booths they came across, they never really ventured inwards, Ryuji too cowardly to ask Ann to participate.

" _Damn it Ryuji be a man! Hold her hand or some shit! I'm so fucking stupid,"_ he panicked internally as they made their way by some carnival games.

"Shit…" a student in a Kosei High uniform muttered as he stood at the carnival booth with his date next to him.

"Sorry kid, better luck next time," the man running the game teased him. Ryuji and Ann approached the game booth, standing next to the couple from Kosei.

"What's the goal with this game?" Ryuji asked.

"Three balls for 700 yen, five for 1000!" he told him, "Simply knock over the three milk bottles and win a prize!" he pointed at the bottles. The bottles stood about ten feet away from Ryuji, the balls placed in front of Ryuji in a row. There were three sets of bottles corresponding to three throwing stations.

"Easy! I'll take three." Ryuji handed the man a 1000 yen bill as the man dispensed his change. He looked over at the wall at all the prizes. There were a series of small stuffed animals, getting larger and larger as he looked up until hanging at the top of the tent were extremely large stuffed animals. Ryuji picked up the ball, looking at bottles as he gripped the ball as hard as he could. Then, in a single swoop, Ryuji threw the ball straight down the tent and knocked all three bottles clear off the stand.

"Woo-hoo!" Ann clapped and jumped up and down.

"So I get a big one for that, right?" he asked.

"Unfortunately no, you gotta use the other two balls to knock them down again and again," he told Ryuji, "Just let me set-" before he could finish Ryuji quickly ran over to the other station and picked up one of the balls and proceeded to knock the bottles over again, then repeated the same feat for a third time at the last station.

"Gimme the squid!" Ryuji demanded as the operator stood in amazement of Ryuji's athletic prowess.

"Well kid," He reached up and pulled down a huge lemon yellow stuffed squid, almost the size of Ryuji, himself "You're the first guy in years I've given one of these out to… most people want the bear for their dates…"

"Here you go Ann," he place the squid in Ann's hands.

"Arh," Ann tried to hold the comically oversized stuffed animal, "Thank you."

"Why can't you win me one of those?" the female art student complained.

"Bah, it's a game for brutes like that one," he smugly mocked Ryuji.

"Do you want one?" Ryuji asked, "I can win one for you if you want. I know you arty types aren't very strong. You know Yusuke? The dude forgets to eat when he paints. I'm amazed he weighs what he weighs."

"…" the woman blushed, "Is it okay if he wins me an animal?"

"How dare you get flirtatious with MY girlfriend!" he sneered at Ryuji, "Come on dear, we don't need to be around an animal like that and his foreign skank of a girl," he grabbed his girlfriend by her hand.

"Skank!?" Ann growled.

"Skank?" Ryuji grabbed him by the collar, slamming him against the game booth, "Say skank one more time asshole and you'll regret it," the man coward in fear as we wriggled his way out of Ryuji's grasp, taking his girlfriend along with him as they ran as fast as those pencil legs of his could, "Yeah that's right douchebag, get outta here," Ryuji yelled at him, "Go stick a paintbrush up your ass! He flipped him off.

"…" Ann frowned. Ryuji turned to her, still steaming with rage as he calmed down at the sight of tears in her eyes.

"Sorry about that," Ryuji told her, "I didn't mean to make a scene."

"No, it's not that…" Ann held back tears, "I'm just sick of assholes like that."

"Hey don't cry," Ryuji walked up to her, "Uh, I…" struggled to comfort her, "You wanna get some chocolate ice cream from that homemade ice cream place?" Ryuji took Ann by the hand, leading her to the ice cream stand. The two got their ice cream and took a seat on a nearby bench, still awkwardly dejected

"Well I effed this date up," Ryuji looked at Ann.

"It's fine," she frowned, "It's just… it sucks you know. I get called a slut or a skank or a whore all the time by people," Ann took a lick of her cone, "Sorry… I don't mean to bum you out."

"I understand. Everywhere I go people think I'm a criminal and a punk," Ryuji looked around, "Somedays I just… I wish I could be a normal kid like everyone else."

"What about you isn't normal?" she asked.

"My attitude, my hair, my home life," he listed off reason after reason, "Not to mention the whole Phantom Thief thing… some days I wish I could just redo my whole life and be a different person. You know?"

"I get that," Ann concurred, "Although we'd all miss you. You're a good guy at heart."

"Sorry again for making that scene," Ryuji apologized to Ann, "I feel like a total dick."

"Don't worry about it; I know that you were just trying to be nice to me," Ann sighed, "You get numb to it eventually you know… the name calling… even after everything we've done I still get called Kamoshida's whore."

"Don't say that," Ryuji told her, "You're not a whore. Everyone at school is a effin' dick! They talk shit about all of us, fuck them."

"Tell me about it," Ann sighed again. The two sat around licking their ice cream as they contemplated what they had said. Ryuji felt bad as he clearly had brought a damper on the mood of the date. He raced through his mind to figure out what would be able to salvage this date with Ann.

" _Come on man think!"_ he thought, " _What would Akira do? He's smooth with the ladies, even older ladies! Do something!_ " he turned to Ann, "You wanna go in the bumper cars?"

"Bumper cars?" she looked at him.

" _Oh my god I'm a moron_ ," Ryuji yelled internally.

"That sounds like fun," she hugged onto her giant squid.

"REALLY?" Ryuji shrieked out, "I-uh-I-uh… Ann I'm gonna be really honest here I'm a wreck trying to make this date work! I don't know what I'm doing and I just wanna do good bye you because you are so effin hot!"

"Ahahaha," Ann laughed out loud as Ryuji spilled his spaghetti all over the park ground, "Ryuji you are so self conscious! You're doing fine. Just treat this like we're still friends hanging out. You're doing fine."

"Thanks, he sighed, "I'm an effin spaz."

"Yes you are," she stood up, "And that's why I like you so much. Now let's go play bumper cars and ride the roller coaster and then eat one of those giant hotdogs." She grabbed him by the hand, pulling him off the bench as she ran towards the bumper cars with him in tow.

The next few hours were nothing but fun for the two of them. They rode the bumper cars, Ryuji slamming into Ann with no mercy as she cursed his name. They hit up every ride they wanted to, including riding both roller coasters twice. Afterwards they tore through the various food stands and eating as many different varieties of foods they could. Finally, Ryuji and Ann spent some time in the arcade playing a shooting game with the little remaining money they had.

"The sun is setting," Ann told Ryuji as they exited the arcade, "We better get going."

"One more ride," he begged her, "Come on, I got just the ride in mind!"

"Alright," she smiled.

"Great!" he smiled back.

"Please tell me you're not thinking of taking me on the tunnel of love," she smugly smirked at him, "Because that would be sooo clichéd."

"Oh no, even better and more clichéd," he pointed behind him, "Ferris Wheel!"

"The Ferris Wheel sounds like fun," Ann giggled as she ran ahead of Ryuji, the squid's tentacles dragging along on the ground. The two got into the line for the wheel, just beating the rush as the sun began to set. They waited for about 10 minutes or so before getting into their cart. The cart itself was very tacky with pink stripes everywhere and baby blue fur seats. Ann place the squid on the floor as the ride began, Ryuji and her enjoying each other's company for the duration of the ride.

"Ahhhh," Ryuji let out a fake yawn as he put his arms into the air, cracking his knuckles before laying his left arm over Ann's shoulders.

"Real subtle…" Ann laughed.

"What?" Ryuji looked at her

"If you wanna put your arm over my shoulder just ask," Ann told him, "I'm okay with it."

"… What if I wanted to kiss you?" he asked her with a blush on his face.

"Kiss me?" Ann blushed, "Sure we could… I've never kissed anyone before if that's okay with you?"

"Bullshit," Ryuji pulled his arm away in shock, "You're telling me you've never kissed a guy? I thought Kamoshida-"

"No! I told you I didn't do anything with him!" she sternly told him.

"Okay okay okay," he calmed her down, "I've… I've never kissed a girl before either! You wanna lose our kiss virginities?"

"Kiss virginities? That's not the term dumbass!" Ann scolded him.

"Then what's the proper term!?" he asked her.

"…I don't know!" she gave up, "You wanna kiss? Fine! Let's do it!" she pointed to her lips, "Plant one right here Ryuji!" she egged him on, seemingly upset with him. Ryuji took a deep breath, looked her straight in the eye. He cupped her face with right hand, placing his left on her right side and leaned in, pressing his lips against hers. The two made almost no motion whatsoever; they just sat there as their lips just touched each other for thirty seconds or so.

"Mah!" he pulled back, "Satisfied."

"…" she blushed, "…Yeah," she let out a soft smile.

"Eff yeah!" Ryuji had the biggest smile on his face, "It was good for you? Because I loved it!"

"I liked it too," Ann continued to blush.

"Sweet! Let's do it again," Ryuji quickly leaned in before Ann could get a word out and began to kiss her. This time Ryuji was much more emboldened, his lips began to move against hers as he felt her lower lip lock in between his lips. Ryuji wanted so bad to shove his tongue down her throat, but he knew Ann would kill him for doing that. He closed his eyes, just focusing on the intense pleasure of Ann. She bit his upper lip just ever so slightly as Ryuji jerked forward. They continued to kiss as the wheel turned on and on. Ryuji had lost all sense of time and place, his worries melted away as it all just became him and Ann joined at the mouth.

"Alright," the door opened to their cart, Ryuji and Ann breaking the kiss in a fright, "Ride's over you two; come on." The man motioned with his hand for the two to exit. Ryuji and Ann exited the cart, both slightly embarrassed to be caught in the act. The man however was completely un-phased as this was likely a regular part of his day. The couple made their way back to the entrance of the park.

"Thanks for, uh, coming with me Ann," Ryuji said to her as Ryuji made his way through the turn stop, "I had a lot of fun."

"Me too," she smiled, "We should definitely come back here again someday."

"I would love that," he told her.

"Thanks for the squid," she giggled as she gave it a good squeeze, "And thanks for standing up for me and the ice cream and… well, everything."

"Eh, it's not a problem," Ryuji shrugged, "It was worth it for a girl like you. I really like you."

"I like you too," Ann giggled.

"So, you wanna go out on another date next week?" Ryuji asked her.

"Only if I can choose," Ann demanded.

"Name it," he told her.

"Is shopping okay with you?" Ann asked, "Would you be okay if I tried some clothes on and then you told me what you thought about them."

"I'm not really a fashion guy, but I'll try," he said.

"Great," she laughed, "Well then I-"

"There's that asshole!" a man yelled. Ryuji turned around after Ann's face turned to shock as three guys approached him, all of them in Kosei High uniforms, the leader being the same man as before, "This is the asshole who assaulted me."

"Ryuji…" Ann softly spoke to him as Ryuji approached the three men.

"You called my girlfriend a skank!" Ryuji yelled, "So now you call your little friends here to gang up on me? Because I'll kick all three of your asses! Or, you can prevent me from having to do so and you can look that woman in the eyes and say to her 'Ann, I'm sorry for calling you a skank!'" Ryuji cocked his fists back.

"Hey man, maybe you should just apologize," the student to the leader's right became weak in the knees, "This guy looks like he has murder in his eyes."

"I will not apologize for my opinions," he approached Ryuji, "Censorship is the death of art! I am-" he began to spew out a bunch of artistic nonsense as Ryuji, who couldn't last more than a minute of this garbage, grabbed him again by the collar, delivering a punch to his kidneys that made him yelp out in pain. The two men who once stood by their friend immediately ran off in fear as Ryuji put the man into a headlock, dragging him over to Ann.

"Apologize!" he grunted out as the man did everything he could to free himself. He wailed his arms and legs against Ryuji, making no impact against Ryuji's muscular form.

"Never!" he proclaimed as Ryuji continued to squeeze the air out of him. The man gasped and wiggled around more and more as the consciousness began to leave his eyes, "I yield! I yield!" he yelled as Ryuji let him out of the headlock, collapsing to the ground as he gasped all the air he could.

"Are you going to apologize for calling my girlfriend a skank?" he threatened him.

"Yes! I'm sorry-" he plead.

"I'm sorry Ann!" Ryuji corrected him.

"I'm sorry Ann for calling you a foreign skank! You are not that and I deeply deeply implore you to forgive me for my transgressions! I have wronged such a fair maiden," he was practically in tears at this point.

"Thanks," she cringed.

"Now get the hell outta here!" Ryuji commanded him as he nodded and waddled away, "Effin' asshole," Ryuji looked at Ann who was simply staring at him with a dumbfounded look about her face, "I did it again, didn't I?"

"No it's fine," Ann explained, "It's just…"

"What?" Ryuji frowned.

"You called me your girlfriend," Ann told him.

"Well you are my girlfriend, right?" Ryuji asked her.

"Usually couples have a talk about commitment and their plans for each other before calling each other that," Ann told him.

"Alright," he grabbed her hands with his own, cupping them, "So I really like you and I think you are a great girl. I think you are really really hot and I wanna spend as much time as I can with you. I plan on dating you for as long as I can and if the relationship works out and stuff then I guess we'll get married and have kids or something and you know… grow old and stuff," he mumbled on

"Well you didn't have to go that far," she laughed, "But I feel the same way about you. So I guess I am okay with being my girlfriend as long as you are okay with being my boyfriend."

"Absolutely!" he cried out, "Should we tell the others?"

"Eventually," Ann sighed, "I figure for now let's just enjoy each other without it being brought up every two minutes by them." The two walked away from the park, holding hands all the way to the train, not letting go until they had to go their separate ways.

* * *

_Ryuji: AKIRA! I DID IT MY MAN!_

_Akira: What?_

_Ryuji: I GOT A GIRLFRIEND!_

_Akira: Is this a prank?_

_Ryuji: NOPE! I'M SO EXCITED AND SHIT MAN! WE WENT ON A DATE TO A THEME PARK AND I WON HER A PRIZE AND THEN WE KISSED! I GOT MY FIRST KISS TODAY ON THE FERRIS WHEEL!_

"Is Ryuji playing a joke on you?" Morgana looked at his phone.

"I don't think so," he told him.

"It's gotta be a prank," Morgana continued to stare at the phone, "That or he kissed a guy…"

_Akira: So who is the lucky lady? Tell me._

_Ryuji: I can't man… it's a secret. I'll tell you eventually, but needless to say you're gonna be so happy for us! I've been listening to so many sappy couple songs for the past few hours, man this is the best!_

_Akira: Well I hope it works out for you two. Honestly._

_Ryuji: Thanks man. I feel like I'm on top of the goddamn world!_

"He's not joking, is he?" Morgana looked at Akira.

"I don't think so," he responded.

"I wonder who would go out with a guy like that… whoever she is she must have mental problems!" Morgana cried out. Akira laid back, wondering who the mystery woman was as he drifted off to sleep, Morgana soon following with the same thoughts in his head.


	2. Chapter 2

Akira was just getting off the subway to Shujin Academy, the train relatively empty this time of the day, school over and most of the students had already left for home, with exception of a select few. One of those select few was Makoto Niijima: the third year student council president, a member of The Phantom Thieves, and most importantly Akira Kurusu's girlfriend.

As he walked up the stairs of the subway stop, he wondered if it would've been appropriate to bring her a gift of some sort. He had a few times before and she seemed to be very receptive to the gifts, but he didn't feel like he needed to this time around. As he walked towards the school gates, several students were hanging out in groups near the entrance, mostly just talking or goofing around. Occasionally Makoto would stand alone near the entrance, trying to make friends or just talk to someone, but it never quite worked out for her. Akira was surprised to see she wasn't in her usual meeting spot, so Akira entered the school, heading up to the third floor and towards the student council room.

He peered in, nothing but an empty table in the dark greeted him. Akira was surprised that Makoto was in neither of her usual spots, wondering where she could have gone. After racing around with several ideas, he popped over to the library, looking in to see if she was there, and there she was. He saw her curled up in a corner study booth, writing something down in her notebook. He could recognize that silky brown hair and hair band anywhere. Akira snuck up behind her placing his hand on her shoulder as she let out a slight surprised gasp as she turned to see Akira smiling at her.

"Hey," he whispered as he knelt down beside her.

"Hello," she smiled back.

"Studying?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm doing some math," she showed him the book.

"Hmmm," Akira looked at the problems. It was some statistical problems, most of it just simple memorizing and plugging the data into formulas, but Makoto would do problems over and over to ensure she knew how to do any problem.

"Are you busy?" he asked, "I was hoping we could hang out."

"Oh, I didn't know you wanted to spend time with me," she whispered, "If you want you can help me with some math and in an hour we can leave and spend some time together." Akira put his hand on top of her hand, a light blush overcoming her face as he sat down in the booth next to her. Akira pulled out his math materials from his bag, Morgana curled up in the bag softly napping as the two studied together. Akira's mathematical problems were much different from Makoto's, he was dealing with some advanced algebraic formulas instead of statistics, but Makoto still remembered all the formulas needed and was able to help him. Akira never ceased to be amazed at the knowledge she possessed.

Akira tried to actually focus on his studies rather than the cute girl next to him, but her presence seemed to make his heart skip a beat as she scribbled down things on paper. After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, Makoto began to put her things away. The two stood up and walked out of the school's library, outside they finally were able to talk normally.

"What would you like to do today?" Makoto asked.

"I don't know," he realized he never came up with a game plan for what he actually wanted to do with Makoto, he just wanted to see her.

"…" Makoto pondered on what to do.

"We can just walk around Shibuya," Akira suggested.

"I'd like that," she smiled as Akira smiled back. The two of them headed off on their little makeshift date.

* * *

"These pictures are really well drawn," Makoto was looking at some street art being sold by a street vendor.

"Yusuke draws better," Akira told her.

"Of course, but these are still very nice," she continued to look at the pictures, "I'd love to own a painting like this one when I'm older. A nice house near the shore…" she pointed to a picture of a dog and a little girl in a forest.

"At your place do you own any art?" Akira asked.

"No, our apartment is rather bare to be quite honest," Makoto explained, "I have almost nothing on the walls of my bedroom other than several awards I've received in various academic pursuits. When I was little Sae encouraged me to be a part of an academic quiz team and we went to the nationals several times. I was in charge of history and-" Makoto stopped, "Sorry I'm droning on."

"I don't mind," Akira smiled, "It's cute." Makoto blushed and looked away from Akira, "It there anything else you would like to do today?"

"I would like to go to the underground mall if possible," she told him, "I've never spent much time around there and lots of shops intrigue me."

"Great," the two headed towards the location of the underground mall.

"Tell me Akira," Makoto asked, "Do you like it here in Tokyo? It must be so different from back home."

"I live right outside Tokyo," he told her, "It's like a 45 minute train ride to get to here. Did you think I live out in the boonies or something?"

"No," she shook her head, "I just thought you lived far from here… sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for," Akira nodded, "In fact since you have your license you could visit me when I go back."

"That's still many months away," she smiled, "…Do you really think we'll still be dating when you go back?"

"Sure," the two stopped near Square Station, the aroma of cigarettes surrounded them as they passed by the nearby smoker's area, a fat business man was puffing on an e-cig as he was reading some sort of idol magazine, causing Akira to let out a soft chuckle, "Wait, I gotta see if I won!"

"Won?" Makoto asked as Akira approached the nearby gambling stand. Makoto sighed as she walked over with her boyfriend who was handing the ticket over to the brown haired woman behind the counter.

"Hey can you cash this ticket for me," Akira handed her the slip of paper.

"You gamble?" she asked.

"Not really," Akira told her, "I buy a ticket about once a month. It's kinda fun." The lady looked at the ticket for quite some time with her back turned to them.

"Congratulations sir you won 500 yen!" she told him.

"You won!" Makoto cheered.

"The ticket cost 3000…" he sighed.

"Oh, so you lost… 2500 yen," Makoto stopped cheering, "Have you ever won?"

"I won 4000 yen once, I'll never get that billion dollar jackpot, I just don't understand why I don't win," Akira sighed.

"…" Makoto stared at him, "Because it's the lottery. Weren't you paying attention to our homework! It was about gambling and how unlikely it is to even win at any game!"

"Oh yeah," he panicked, "That's right… heh…" she continued to look at him like he was a complete dumbass.

"Hey, let's check out the underground mall dear," he quickly bolted away from the lotto stand and towards the stairs heading down, Makoto following quickly in tow. The two eventually reached the underground mall, the place packed with people.

"What kind of shops did you wanna check out?" Akira asked.

"What's this shop?" she asked as she walked over to look inside, "It's some kind of book shop! And they sell manga!" she reached out for one of the colorful manga's on the display shelf. On the cover was a buff man in a speedo with a generic title in bold yellow caps called 'Action Man'. As Makoto flipped through the pages, her face became more and more red as she soon discovered the manga was pornographic in nature, as well as extremely homosexual.

"You into that kinda thing?" Akira asked as Makoto shoved the book back on the shelf, "Lots of girls like those kinds of books."

"W-Well I don't for your information!" she was completely red as she stormed away from the shop.

"I'm not judging!" Akira teased her as they then headed towards a music shop. Inside, Akira quickly put on a pair of headphones and cycled through the various tracks they had for trial. Makoto was looking at albums in a nearby section as Akira rocked out.

"Akira?" Makoto turned to her boyfriend as loud music was blasting out of his headphones, she tugged on his shirt, causing him to take notice and pull the headphones off.

"What?" he asked.

"What are you listening too?" she asked as she put the headphone on. The music he was listening to was loud, profane, and violent sounding. Drums were drumming at an insanely ludicrous speed as the singer screamed curse words into the microphone in a deep scratch baritone voice, "What is that?" she pulled the headphones off and rubbed her ears.

"Death metal," he told her, "I like it. Those drums are really cool and loud."

"It hurts my eardrums," she continued to massage her ears, "Are you really into THAT?"

"No," he put the headphones down, "I'm not really a musical guy. I'll listen to just about anything. You looking at anything in particular here?" he looked at her.

"They have a large assortment of old records!" she pulled him over, "Why are they selling these? Aren't they old and obsolete?"

"Some people collect them," he pulled out a record, "Believe it or not; Futaba has a record player in her room along with some records. A lot of new bands put stuff on records now!"

"That seems wasteful," Makoto looked at the records, "Not many people use records."

"It's a collectible kinda thing… plus the music Futaba listens to is weird it's all techy and stuff and when she played it for me I felt physically sick." The two continued to walk through the underground mall, visiting almost every shop they could find before coming across a large clothing store.

"Do you mind if I look at some clothes?" Makoto asked, "I know that boys don't like to do those sorts of things."

"It's fine," Akira smiled as he looked at the mannequins in the windows, "Trying on a new bikini?" he asked.

"Uh, I don't think I need one," she told him.

"I'll buy it," he boldly proclaimed as Makoto began to blush yet again, "Plus you can model for me." Akira teased her as she got more and more red. The two entered the shop and right near the entrance was Ryuji and Ann. Ann was looking at various blouses that were on sale as Ryuji just stood behind her and watched.

"Hey man!" Ryuji waved as he noticed the two walk in.

"Ryuji? What are you doing here?" Akira asked.

"I could ask the same of you," Ryuji asked back.

"I was hanging out with Makoto and she wanted to stop by here and shop," he pointed to Makoto and Ann who had greeted each other and were now busy looking at various shirts together.

"I was doing the same with Ann," Ryuji laughed, "Great minds think alike I guess."

"Huh, that's-" Akira stopped in his tracks, realizing that Ann was indeed the girl Ryuji had been talking about. He had his suspicions over the course of the past month. In mementos the two were always sitting next to each other in the car. They were constantly talking to each other outside of class and he had run into them together a couple of time in the wild, but he never put two and two together. Which meant that there was one major issue he had to deal with he'd hoped he hadn't have to, Morgana.

"What's wrong?" Ryuji asked as Akira was lost deep in thought.

"I'll, uh, be right back!" he ran out of the shop and made a quick left, heading to another shop at the other end of the hall, "Hey Morgana!"

"Huh," Morgana yawned and popped his head outside of Joker's bag, "Sorry… I've been so sleepy…the library is so boring… Ahhhh… what is it… where are we?"

"You're fur is looking kinda ratty!" Akira told him.

"Ratty!?" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, it's pretty gross," he entered the shop and pulled Morgana out. He was inside a pet grooming salon, the place filled with sounds of various animals crying out at each other, "Hello, hi, I'd like my cat to get the best cleaning you can give him! The whole 9 yards. Scrub him really long and hard and make him look like a brand new cat!"

"Okay," she grabbed Morgana out of Akira's hands, "We'll get…"

"Morgana," he told the shopkeeper.

"Morgana. We'll get Morgana all cleaned up," the shop keep put Morgana down on a table behind her, "That's such a cute name. You're a pretty girl aren'tcha!"

"I'm not a girl!" Morgana cried out.

"It'll be about 30 minutes or so," the shopkeeper told Akira.

"Great. See ya Morgana, be nice to the other animals," he quickly left the shop.

"Such a pretty girl," the cleaner began to run some water out of the nearby sink.

"I told you I'm no girl!" Morgana yelled again, "I am- OH!" Morgana purred as she was dipped in a small pool of warm water. Outside Akira was quickly making his way back to the shop. Inside, Ann and Makoto were both looking a couple of the dresses on display in the window as Ryuji was messing around on his phone.

"Alright, sorry about that…" he looked at Ryuji, "I just wanted some privacy for us."

"Whatever," Ryuji didn't even hear him and just continued to beat away on his phone.

"Ryuji can I ask you a question?" Akira asked.

"Yeah?" he looked up from his phone.

"Are you and Ann…" Ryuji turned to Ann and Makoto, "Ann?" Ann turned around, "Are you and Ryuji…" Akira pointed back and forth between the two of them.

"What?" Ann blushed.

"Ann was that girl you were texting me about? Wasn't she?" he asked, "Is Ann your girlfriend?"

"Uh…" Ryuji was blushing now too.

"You texted him about me?" Ann scolded Ryuji, "What did you tell him?"

"I was just asking him about dating stuff!" Ryuji quickly shot back, "That's all. I wasn't like making shit up about you or things we did together. I haven't told a living soul about us other than my mom!" he looked at Akira, "Tell her."

"Well that's not entirely accurate…" Akira smirked.

"Oh you little-" Ann was steaming at Ryuji.

"Relax. He just told me about kissing on the Ferris Wheel," Akira told her, "He didn't mention who though so I just assumed it was some random girl he managed to hook up with."

"God," she sighed, "This is really embarrassing."

"Akira was going to figure out sooner or later along with everyone else," Ryuji comforted her, "Best getting it out of the way now. Yes, Ann and I are dating! We are officially boyfriend and girlfriend," he walked over to Ann and held her hand, Ann blushing and looking away in embarrassment as Makoto stared at them.

"I'm dating Makoto," Akira told them as he did the same and grabbed Makoto's hand.

"Akira!" Makoto blushed.

"Seriously?" Ryuji asked.

"Seriously," he confirmed, "About a month now."

"Well me and Ann have been dating for a month and a half now!" he told Akira, proudly showing off he had obtained a girlfriend before his friend.

"Is he serious?" Ann looked at Makoto.

"Yes," she slightly blushed, "We have been dating."

"Well congratulations!" Ann giggled.

"Congratulations to you too," Makoto giggled back.

"Ryuji can I speak to you," Akira whispered, motioning for Ryuji and him to go outside the shop. The two left the shop and went slightly off to the side.

"What the hell are those two up to?" Ann and Makoto followed them, peeping out of the store at what the two were up to. Outside, Ryuji and Akira both gave each other a loud cheer and jumped up in the air, high fiving in spectacular fashion similar to that of a baton pass. Ann and Makoto let out a sigh as they watched the two celebrate with each other.

"Idiots," Ann shook her head.

"Effin' Yeah!" Ryuji pumped his fist, "Girlfriends! We did it!"

"That we did!" Akira smirked as he and Ryuji high fived again, "Girlfriends."

"ACTUAL EFFIN GIRLFRIENDS! You know what this means?" Ryuji looked at him, "We get to do all that couple shit now!"

"Couple shit?" Akira looked at him.

"You know. Stuff like sharing milkshakes and riding horses on the beach and then making love on the beach!" Ryuji explained.

"You've been watching too many movies," Akira told him.

"Movies are based on reality!" Ryuji defended himself, "Besides, you know what we gotta do now?"

"What?" Akira asked.

"Double… Date," Ryuji waved his arm in the air, as if spelling out the name for all to see.

"A Double Date?" Akira put his hand to his chin, "… Yes… That could work! We go on a double date and we woo them and then…"

"We get some?" Ryuji giggled like a little boy.

"…Possibly," Akira looked at him, "If we play are cards right. Are you busy after school tomorrow?"

"No," he told him.

"Great, come over to Café LeBlanc and we can plan out the double date there," Akira pondered, "We'll figure out the game plan and execute the operation… Ryuji, together the two of us are going to pull off our greatest heist to date… we're going to steal their hearts!"

"We are The Phantom Thieves of Hearts!" he laughed, "We can do this! Eff Yeah WE ARE THE PHA-!"

"Stop screaming that!" Akira put his hand over Ryuji's mouth, "You're gonna get us in trouble!"

"Sorry man! I'm just so happy!" he cried in his euphoric state of giddiness.

"There's just one issue," Akira remembered, "Morgana. You know how he gets about Ann…"

"Screw Morgana," Ryuji angrily threw his hand to his side, "Dumbass cat thinks he can get MY girl. I got some bad news for him. I'm gonna look him right in his eyes and tell him all about how I've had mouth on her mouth and he never ever will!"

"Please don't. We're going to have to break this… lightly to him," Akira explained, "But for now we should keep this quiet from him as well as the others. Otherwise it's just gonna be awkward."

"I get ya, Ann said that too," he sighed, "Kinda sucks having a girlfriend you can't show off to people. We were mostly worried about the group's reaction. I just wanna walk to school with Ann, hand-in-hand and rub my nose in every one of those faces."

"Well get out there eventually," Akira motioned for him to come back, "Now let's go do some of that 'couple stuff'."

"Yes!" he smiled as the two went back into the clothing shop, "Ann, Makoto. We were outside talking and we thought it'd be fun to do a double date next Sunday."

"Double Date?" Makoto asked.

"I think it'd be fun," Akira said, "We'll take you two someplace nice."

"A double date sounds really fun," Ann smiled, "I'm down for it."

"Whaddya say Makoto?" Ryuji looked at her.

"…Alright," she nodded, "Sunday we'll double date."

"Great," Akira nodded.

"Speaking of great," Ann turned around, "What do you guys think of this blouse?"

"It looks sexy on you," Ryuji smiled.

"Very cute," Makoto said.

* * *

" _Alright man this is it_ " Akira thought to himself as he sat in the attic, Morgana next to him on the bed. It was the evening after school, Ryuji and Akria putting off their planning session until the evening so they could focus on other things.

"Akira, you're friend Ryuji is here," Sojiro shouted up the stairs.

" _MISSION START!"_ he internally screamed. He quickly went downstairs; meeting his friend at the foot of the stairs as he discretely motioned towards Morgana who was following him down the steps.

"Morgana, stay upstairs!" Akira told Morgana at the stairs.

"What!? Why?" Morgana scolded.

"Because… we have a surprise and we don't want you to find out," Akira smiled.

"Surprise?" Morgana queerly looked at him.

"Big surprise," he told him, "So stay upstairs and don't ruin it, okay? I'm trusting you on this."

"…" he looked around, "You can count on me!" Morgana walked over to the couch, his mind frenzied with what the surprise could be as Joker and Ryuji walked back down to the café.

"Shit. What are we going to do for a surprise now?" Ryuji panicked.

"I'll figure something out," Akira told him as they walked over to the counter. The two sat down, Akira pulling out a notebook and a few pens as he opened it to a fresh page.

"Operation…" Akria wrote down aloud, "…"

"Operation Date Night?" Ryuji asked.

"Operation Double Date Night," he finished.

"Kinda lame to be honest," Ryuji sighed.

"…" Akira looked at it, trying to come up with something witty to write instead, "Operation… Operation…"

"Operation Double… Heart…Stealers?" Ryuji thought aloud as well. The two spent quite some time trying to come up with some clever name for their mission, going through several sheets of scratch paper.

"Agh," Akira grunted aloud, "We're getting sidetracked! This is about the mission. Not the name of the mission."

"Right," Ryuji gave a thumbs, "Right now we have to come up with the best night ever so that when it's all over those girls will want us to be inside them," he blushed and let out a couple of laughs.

"What?" Sojiro looked at the two of them, "The hell are you two talking about?"

"We're double dating and we want to figure out a game plan to get some!" Ryuji told him.

"You two?" Sojiro gave the two teenagers a look of pity, "I doubt either of you even has a date lined up."

"We have girlfriend's you know!" Akira told him, "I've been dating Makoto for a little over a month now!"

"I've almost been dating Ann for two months!" Ryuji told him.

"Ann?" Sojiro seemed shocked, "You and Ann? Her!?"

"Yeah that's right! I'm dating Ann!" Ryuji proudly proclaimed.

"What the hell would a girl like that see in a punk idiot like you?" Sojiro was almost yelling at Ryuji.

"My charm, my sense of humor, my body!" Ryuji jumped out of the seat and pulled his shirt off, revealing his six-pack and bulging triceps, flexing the whole time for everyone to see.

"Put your shirt back one you punk!" Sojiro walked around the counter and slapped him, "This is a place of business!"

"I know!" he told him, "But look at this firepower!" he flexed his shoulders now, "I could bench press Ann no problem. I'm going to absolutely wreck her body with mine!"

"Enough!" he slapped Ryuji across the face, "Get dressed or get out!"

"Fine!" he put his shirt back on, "Back to business. Ann like sweets; so I should bring a box of chocolates, right?"

"Too direct," Akira told him, "When you meet her, just have a box of candies on you, open and like half eaten and then you just say 'Hey Ann. I got some chocolate. Would you want some?'" Akira explained.

"That's even better because it seems like it's not planned!" Ryuji smiled, "And you could do the same thing with like… homework or something. I don't know what Makoto likes."

"I'll give her another book cover," Akira told him.

"This is the saddest thing I've ever seen," Sojiro shook his head, "You two sound like a couple of elementary school students going on a play date with their 'girlfriends'," he mocked them in a childish manner.

"Excuse me!" Ryuji cried out, "Maybe you can tell us how to get laid then!"

"Neither of you are getting 'laid'," he bluntly told them, much to their shock.

"Who is this guy anyway man?" Ryuji looked at Akira, "Is really in any position to be lecturing us on girls."

"He dates a lot of women…" Akira told him.

"Bullshit!" Ryuji interrogated him, "How many women have you been with?"

"Countless, in my younger days…" he fondly remembered all the tail he pulled in with that slick car and his slick looks, "If I was your age I could've stolen both of those girls away from you at the same time."

"Seriously?" Ryuji went wide eyed, "Shit…"

"Maybe he's right and we're setting our expectations too high," Akira sighed, "Let's just move on to the main event."

"I got just the thing," Ryuji pulled his phone out, showing an image to Akira, "Horror movie. Really really scary shit. People say this is like the scariest movie of all time. We get in there and they'll be terrified and cuddling us in the theater…"

"Then we make out with them in the theater," Akira smiled.

"Exactly!" Ryuji backed him up.

"Wrong!" Sojiro had to interject again, "Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!" Sojiro was absolutely stunned at the stupidity these two kids had presented before him; it was like watching a person with no arms trying to swim, sad and almost certainly fatal.

"What's wrong with that?" Akira asked.

"Yeah guys make out with girls in movies all the time!" Ryuji tried to defend his position.

"You go to the movies. They get scared. And you just comfort them with your presence! You don't make out with them! If you make out with them at the theater it'll last ten minutes, it'll be awkward, and then the date's over! You might even get thrown out!" Sojiro told them, "You two…" he let out a huge sigh, "You two are really bad at this."

"Help us then," Akira almost begged him.

"Yeah man, we just wanna get laid!" Ryuji joined in.

"I already told you that neither of you are gonna get laid!" he scolded them again, "Have you two ever had a girlfriends before?"

"Well… no," Akira sighed.

"No," Ryuji sighed as well.

"So… how far have you GOTTEN with these women?" Sojiro interrogated Ryuji right back, "I shouldn't be asking you these questions…" he regretted even getting involved in this conversation.

"I mean, I uh," Ryuji gulped, "You know I touched Ann's tongue with my tongue if that's something."

"Makoto let kiss her neck one time," Akira told him.

"Figures," he chuckled, "Alright then I'll help you two," Sojiro walked around the counter, sitting down on a seat next to them, "First off. The fact you two managed to get these women in it of itself is some sort of divine miracle, but now comes actual hard part, wooing them."

"Didn't we already woo them?" Akira asked, "They are our girlfriends."

"I'm talking about actually wooing, not this teenage flirting and mind games you've been talking about," Sojiro explained to them, "You have to have some class in life. Chicks don't put up this kind of shit unless, and based on the fact they're with you two, their self esteem is extremely low."

"…" Ryuji seemed dejected.

"Girls like Ann and Makoto, their young and irresponsible at heart and don't know what the hell they want. You just have to sit there and listen to them, they're going to blab on about so much dumb pointless shit it'll blow your goddamn mind," Sojiro sighed.

"That's… so true!" Ryuji revealed in Sojiro's knowledge, "Half the time Ann's just blabbing on about shit that I don't even get! I just kinda zone out most of the time."

"So you sit there, listen to it, and try to remember some tiny details so that they think that you understand what they are talking about," Sojiro explained, "You actually have to put in the time and effort on dates like this."

"And then we get to have sex with them?" Ryuji asked.

"Absolutely not," Sojiro told them, "That's so much farther down the line for either of you." Both Ryuji and Akira let out some moans of pain as they could feel the frustration stewing inside their loins.

"This sucks," Akira moaned.

"Tell me about it," Ryuji sighed.

"Listen. When you go out with a chick and you begin to sleep with her, it's a whole different level for them," he told them, "For guys, especially your first time, it's a big step. But for girls it's a whole different thing. They're letting you in both emotionally and physically, there's a symbolism to it. Good girls don't just sleep with everyone they date instantly."

"Damn it you're right," Ryuji put his head down, "This really really sucks."

"We'll get there," Akira patted his friend on the back, "Someday."

"…" Sojiro took his glasses off to wipe them, "Neither of you really don't have positive male role models in your life, do you?"

"My dad is an alcoholic who left my mom," Ryuji told him.

"My dad… is just kinda an ass," Akira smiled as he recalled his father, "Plus he never talks to me. I've talked with my mom several times since coming here, but not once with my dad."

"You two are good kids, but you're goddamn ignorant. Just try to have fun with them." Sojiro got up, "I'm heading home, just… don't be idiots…" he walked out of the shop, " _Lord give those morons strength._ "

"Who would've thought that guy would be so wise when it comes to shit like this?" Ryuji looked at Akira.

"I know, right?" Akira smiled, "So after the movie we should treat to dinner, right?"

"Sushi!" Ryuji explained, "I know of this great place that's really intimate and stuff."

"Then we'll just hang out… maybe go to the park… and make out…" Akria finished the plan.

"I think this will work," he smiled, "We're not being too pushy and we're just gonna try to make out with them in the park! Just some kisses in the park after an expensive dinner! It's gotta work."

"I think it'll work too," Akira agreed.

"Now comes the hard part… money," Ryuji sighed, "We need part time jobs."

"I have a part time job," Akira told him, "You don't."

"You got any recommendations?" Ryuji asked.

"There's a flower shop that's hiring," Akira told him.

"Flowers?" Ryuji shrugged, "Eff that shit man."

"It'll be good for you, it builds character," Akira smiled, "Plus it pays moderately well if you do a good job."

"So I go and work there every week after school and how much will I make…" Ryuji looked at him.

"A little over 10000 yen," Akira told him, "Plus we have some money already and if we pool our resources."

"This better work," Ryuji got up, "I better go find this flower shop."

"Underground Mall!" Akira shouted as Ryuji left.

* * *

The next day Ryuji was at the flower shop, ready to work. He felt like a complete sissy working in a place like this. He had to wear this little green apron and work in the back of this tiny shop.

"So you're Ryuji Sakamoto, correct?" she asked.

"Yeah," he shrugged.

"Alright, well welcome to the team," she greeted him, "So just go back there and prepare the orders, you'll get paid at the end of the work day. Simple as that," she pointed behind her. Ryuji mumbled as he headed to the back, looking at all the different flowers behind him. He got to work making the orders that had come in, trying to figure out which flowers were which and properly package them. He ended up messing up several orders with either the wrong flowers or the wrong packaging, causing several complaints. Eventually the workday ended and was paid exactly what he felt he was worth, Barely 1000 yen.

"Sorry," Ryuji rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm not really good at this."

"Just try to better next time," she told him, "You'll get better. Hopefully."

"…" he turned away with the single bill in his hand. As he walked away he shoved the bill in his pocket, pulling out his phone to text Akria.

_Ryuji: I effed up_

_Akira: What happened?_

_Ryuji: I screwed up a bunch of orders and only made 1000 yen…_

_Akira: How many orders did you mess up? When I work there I always make at least 3000 yen._

_Ryuji: A LOT! Man this shit was harder than I thought. I'm never gonna make enough money by the end of the week to pay for this date. Stupid goddamn flowers. Like how the eff am I suppose to know what flowers best suit a wedding anniversary! Flowers are flowers._

_Akira: …_

_Akira: Hey listen, stop by the red light district. Near The Cross Roads Bar._

_Ryuji: Huh? What are you doing there?_

_Akira: Working._

Ryuji immediately turned around, heading for a different train track to take a ride out to The Red Light District. As he eventually arrived there, he discretely made his way down the streets, trying not to arouse suspicion he was underage and ultimately trying to avoid another run in with men who thought he was into them. As he approached the bar, Akira was standing outside counting a small stack of cash.

"What's all that?" he asked.

"My tips and moderate pay," Akira counted, "11000 yen."

"That much?" Ryuji pulled out the crumpled up bill, "That's 10000 more than me. Stupid Flower Shop."

"You're working at the flower shop?!" Morgana popped out, "Oh that poor store owner. How bad must you have done to get that little money?"

"I tried my best," he closed his eyes, "I just suck at that kind of stuff… you got any recommendations on other jobs. Why don't I come work with you here?"

"Because you couldn't handle it," Akira motioned for him to follow, "There are a few other prospects I want you to take a look at if you're willing. Maybe you can make some decent money if you do a good job.

"Yeah man, I can't go back there and look at that woman's angry face again," he sighed.

"I'll text you the details tomorrow in class, try a few of them," Akira walked off with Ryuji.

* * *

"Holy shit shit shit!" Ryuji panicked as he ran along the bar. He was spending the next night after his failed endeavor at the flower shop working at a beef bowl place. He thought that it would be a walk in the park, just make the food and serve it, but soon the place grew extremely busy. People were shouting orders at him left and right and he was serving one wrong order after the next, he couldn't keep track. Eventually, after the night ended he was called back to the manager's office, who promptly sat him down and chewed him out for a good 20 minutes on how much of a fuck up he was. This wasn't just about his performance that night, it was surprising personal.

"I will never let another rotten no good little punk like you work in an establishment like this ever again!" he yelled. "You swore aloud in front of customers, you barely managed to serve a correct customer, and you dropped several bowls of food! I should have you thrown in jail for theft of property!"

"I'm sorry sir… I…" Ryuji tried to defend himself.

"Shut up!" the man pulled out a single 500 yen coin, "Take your money and get the hell outta here! NOW!" Ryuji quickly shot up and ran out of the store and towards the subway, not looking back once at the mess he had left behind. As he finally calmed down, he felt his phone slightly vibrate, no doubt Akira texting him.

_Akira: How'd this one go?_

_Ryuji: I may have gotten fired…_

_Akira: Did you make any money?_

_Ryuji: 500 yen_

_Akira: did you mean to type 5000?_

_Ryuji: No…_

_Akira: Morgana wants me to tell you that you are quote a failure at life in general._

_Ryuji: Dammit man I just want a job I'm good at. You get a high paying bartending job and Ann has modeling and meanwhile I can't do shit_

_Akira: Just try 777. It doesn't pay much but it's simple_

_Ryuji: Fine._

Ryuji wiped away a couple of tears from his face. The manager insulting his mother was too far in his opinion and god did it hurt.

* * *

"So here's your pay for the day," the cashier handed Ryuji a small envelope. Ryuji opened it up and counted. Much to his amazement it was 2400 yen.

"Seriously?" Ryuji asked, "Did I do that good of a job."

"You did fine for a new employee," he told him, "See you tomorrow.

"Yeah… tomorrow," he smiled, immediately pulling out his phone.

_Ryuji: Boom! 2400 yen baby!_

_Akira: Not to brag, but I made that in a single tip tonight._

_Ryuji: Shut up! I worked really hard at this!_

_Akira: Congratulations, you've mastered a low wage convenience store job. Morgana says he's proud of you, but I think he's being sarcastic._

_Ryuji: Tell him to choke on a hairball. If I work the next couple of days here, pooling that with your money we should have more than enough… you just might have to help me pay for the sushi. I'll pay you back, I promise!_

_Akira: Deal. See you Sunday_

"What's going on Sunday?" Morgana asked, "Is it my surprise?" he asked.

"OH!" Akira had completely forgotten Morgana was still expected some sort of present from them, "Uh, yeah… uh, it'll be fantastic, we promise."

"I hope it's a scratching post!" Morgana cheered, "A big complex one with nooks and crannies and stuff for me to pounce on." Morgana rattled on. Little did he know that what he would see on Sunday was, in fact, a big surprise.


	3. Chapter 3

"What are you getting all dressed up for?" Morgana asked. Akira was currently in his underwear, ironing a dress shirt on a board he had set up in the loft. He had already ironed a pair of dress pants; they were hanging by the rafters on a coat hanger. He had just come back from an extended time in the bath house across the street, using a new brand of cologne as well.

"Makoto and I are going on a date," he told him.

"A date! Ohhh," Morgana blushed, rubbing up against Akira's leg with a flurry of purrs, "She's gonna be putty in your hands with that stylish look! And naturally I'll be there to help you along the way."

"Yeah, about that," he stopped ironing and turned around, placing the iron on its side, "I don't think you should come with me."

"What?" Morgana seemed in shock.

"It's just, it's a really private and personal thing and I know Makoto really loves you. I just want some private time with her, you know?" he explained, "Besides if you were on a date with someone I wouldn't want to interject between you and the lucky lady."

"…" Morgana was dejected, "Very well," he frowned, "I shall remain here."

"Thanks Morgana, I'll let you know how it goes," he went back to ironing. He slowly got all his clothes in proper fashion as he buttoned up for the date. He combed his hair, charged his phone, and counted his money before heading outside after a text was sent for him. Outside, his three friends were all waiting for him.

"Looking great man," Ryuji gave him thumbs up. Ryuji was currently wearing a black leather coat, unzipped. For a shirt he had on a dark blue button up dress shirt with black dress pants. His shoes were just regular tennis shoes, standing out of his outfit like a sore thumb. Did Ryuji even own a pair of dress shoes?

Ann was dressed in a dark red summer dress, dark red lipstick and dark red nail polish to accompany it. She had her hair let all the way down; it was flowing all the way past her shoulders. Everything about her was total sex appeal and she was right at Ryuji's side.

"You look very nice," Makoto smiled. Makoto was wearing a dark black dress coat, her brown purse hanging over her shoulder. Her lips very a perfect shade of light pink that drew Akira's eyes right to them. She was wearing a pair of black female dress slacks with a short skirt overlaying them down to her upper thighs.

"Makoto you look beautiful," Akira smiled at Makoto.

"Not as good as Ann unfortunately," Makoto looked at Ann.

"I think so," Akira smiled.

"I don't know man," Ryuji looked at Ann, "Ann is just so beautiful. I'm no Yusuke, but even I feel a desire to draw Ann right now…" he growled as he eyed Ann up.

"Ryuji!" Ann blushed as she playfully hit Ryuji across the head.

"I mean dressed of course… unless you want to do nudity because then I'd be very happy to-" Ryuji shamelessly flirted as the door to the café opened.

"Akira!" Morgana walked out of Café LeBlanc, "You forgot…" Morgana turned to see Ann, "LADY ANN!" Morgana began to drool and purr, "You're absolutely stunning!"

"Thank you Morgana," Ann blushed, "I worked really hard on this. My hair took over two hours to do," As Morgana continued to ogle Ann, Ryuji and Akira shot a look of panic at each other. The situation had the potential to spiral out of control if they didn't do something quick.

"What's he doing here?" Morgana looked at Ryuji.

"You had something you wanted to tell me?" Akira almost yelled out.

"You forgot your wallet," he monotonically mentioned as he stared at Ann in a trance-like fashion.

"Great, let's go," he picked up Morgana.

"Wait. I'm still looking!" Morgana cried out as he carried him back into the Café and upstairs into the loft. There, he placed Morgana down on the bed, picking up the wallet he had left of the crafting table. Morgana leapt unto the window still to peer outside at Ann.

"Why is she all dressed up?" Morgana purred, "…And why is Ryuji here?"

"Oh, uh," Akira nervously coughed, "You see. Ann has a… modeling gig by this place Makoto and I are going to and we'd figure we'd take the train together," he made something up on the spot, "Ryuji was at the gym and he's headed out to… a job interview…"

"…" Morgana looked at him, "Job interview? Did he get fired from 777 already?" he giggled.

"Ann really is pretty hot though, huh?" Akira smiled as he tried to get Morgana's mind off of Ryuji.

"She's perfection. I can't wait to get my human body back, and then the two of us will be able to go out and…" Morgana was in a daze of daydreams of him and Ann together. He imagined them at the beach together and eating crepes and dancing, Morgana a 6ft tall man with flowing black hair and muscles of a Greek god, "Ahh… Akira?" Morgana looked to him, but he was already gone, "Akira?" he looked around. Morgana casually went downstairs, seeing Akira already on his way out. He ran to the door, peeking his head out as he watched the four of them talking and walking away from the Café and to the train station.

" _Ann is so pretty_ ," he thought, " _And Ryuji managed to clean himself up nicely as well_. _All four of them aren't too shabby. If I didn't know better I'd say-_ " and suddenly the revelation hit Morgana like a stack of bricks: All the time Ryuji and Ann were seen together, the distance of Akira, and everything he had seen today.

" _No…_ " Morgana thought, " _There's no way. What would she want with that joke of a man_. _Especially when she has me_? _You're being stupid! Is it possible… no…_ " Morgana felt conflicted. He wanted to believe Akira, he was his best friend and his caretaker, but at the same time there was something fishy going on here. Morgana knew there was only way to figure out the truth, Morgana quickly bolted out of Café LeBlanc, tailing the four of them to see if his fears were true.

* * *

"Hey, can I get 2? Akira approached the ticket vendor. The tickets popped out of the window as Akira took them, tearing one off and handing it to Makoto. While Ryuji and Ann purchased their tickets, Makoto and Akira looked at the upcoming movie posters.

"I've heard about that one!" Makoto pointed to the poster in question, "It's by this famous director who makes a lot of movies about these samurai who…" Makoto continued to explain the entire plot of a series of movies all about samurai and love and betrayal.

" _The four of them are at the movies… that's a date activity!"_ Morgana was hiding outside the movie theater entrance as he watched Ryuji buying a ticket for him and Ann, " _I gotta get in there!"_ Morgana ran around to find another entrance. As he looked for a vent or a chimney or something, he found his way in through an oversized ladies purse.

"You guys want popcorn?" Ryuji asked.

"Sure," Akira told him.

"Alright. Got get some seats and I'll get the popcorn," Ryuji told them.

"Can you get me some chocolate-poppers?" Ann asked.

"Anything for you," Ryuji smiled. The three teenagers made their way into the theater, picking their seats in the middle of the row near the back, the girls sitting in the middle.

" _WAIT! STOP! WRONG MOVIE THEATER! WRONG MOVIE THEATER!"_ Morgana watched from the purse as he was brought into the theater screening room just opposite of the one Ann entered.

"So what's this movie about?" Ann asked.

"Some horror movie," Akira told her, "Ryuji didn't really explain it; he just said 'It looked cool'."

"I'll admit that I'm not a big fan of horror movies," Makoto scooted closer to Akira, placing her hand on top of his, "Sae use to forbid me from watching them because I'd get so scared I'd be up all night afraid of the monsters."

"I'm here for you," he comforted her. As they shared a brief moment of intimacy it was immediately interrupted by Ryuji scooting in front of the two of them, carrying a big bucket of popcorn with both hands, a box of chocolates held against the bucket.

"Here's the popcorn," Ryuji took a bite and passed the bucket to Akira, "And here's some candy for my candy," he handed Ann the box.

"Isn't the expression 'sweets for my sweets'?" Makoto asked.

"Candy works," Akira told Makoto as he took a bite of popcorn, "Here," he held the bucket towards Makoto, "Here's some popcorn for the… kernel… of my…eye? Makoto simply stared at him, "shit… " Akria sighed. Makoto let out little giggle as she took a small bite of popcorn, Ann reaching over Makoto and taking her own handful.

After about 10 minutes or so of chatting the movie finally began. The premise was pretty dumb; it was a very cheesy story about some sort of haunted children's school and a female teacher discovering the occult history behind the school. Then, almost on a dime, the movie turned into the most horrifying thing the four of them had ever seen in their lives. Everything about what they saw was truly startling: the design of the monsters, the sound of the music, and even the color palette. Even in scenes where there was nothing scary on scene and intense feeling of dread overcame them. Makoto was clinging onto Akira, barely looking at the screen with one eye as Akira himself was using all his might not to look away. He briefly looked at Ann and Ryuji, Ann who had her face buried in her hands while Ryuji was looking at the floor. After what seemed like an eternity, but was really only 40 minutes the movie ended with everyone and everything dying a horrible gruesome death, followed by one final jump scare before cutting to black.

"Alright, it's over," Akira sighed.

"Is it?" Makoto had her face buried in Akira's arm.

"Yeah is it?" Ryuji asked. Akira looked over to see Ryuji and Ann holding each other, both of them holding their eyes as tightly shut as humanly possible.

"Yeah," Akira took a deep breath.

"You're an asshole Ryuji!" Ann cried out as the two broke apart, "What the hell were you thinking with this movie?"

"I-I don't know," Ryuji continued to panic, "It was a recommendation from Mishima! He told me it was critically acclaimed."

"It was really scary," Makoto continued to hold on Akira, but here eyes were now open and looking at Ryuji and Ann, "I could see it winning several awards for whatever awards horror movies receive."

"You got it from that little asshole MISHIMA?" Ann yelled at him, "Why would anyone ever listen to what he has to say?"

"I have to agree with her Ryuji," Akira looked at Ryuji.

"Fine! My bad!" Ryuji shot up, "Let's just… let's just go get some dinner. I hope you girls like sushi!"

"…" Ann shrugged, "I suppose sushi could make up for all this." The four left the movie theater. Outside in the lobby Morgana was hiding behind the popcorn machine behind the counter. He had brought into a romantic comedy that he had already seen with Akira. He managed to escape immediately in the darkness of the theater, but his lack of opposable thumbs prevented him from entering the other theater and thus he had spent the past hour wandering around the lobby waiting for them.

" _Okay so they are still together… where are they going now… damn it!"_ Morgana followed them out of the theater.

* * *

"AH! You gotta be shitting me!" Ryuji ran up to the door of the sushi place where they had made their reservations, "Closed!?" he pulled out his phone and tapped on the touch screen, "It says right here its open!"

"It's not a holiday, is it?" Akira asked. Ryuji tried looking in the window, seeing nothing but the hollow insides of a building.

"We can go somewhere else, can't we?" Makoto asked, "There are plenty of restaurants around here."

"They're gonna be pretty book up," Ann told her, "Night like this everyone's going out."

"Any ideas man?" Ryuji ask Akira.

"Big Bang Burger?" Akira suggested.

"You wanna take our girlfriends to Big Bang Burger?" Ryuji complained.

"Big Bang Burger sounds really good actually," Ann smiled, What do you think Makoto?" Makoto nodded in agreement. The four of them made their way a couple of blocks before coming across the burger place, it's neon lights lighting up the whole street, a line out the door.

"Why is there a line?" Ryuji whined.

"Big Bang Burger is popular," Akira and the rest got in line, "We should do the challenge!"

"You can do the challenge if you like," Makoto pulled her phone out, "I just want something without a lot of calories; a grilled chicken sandwich with no mayo or maybe a salad."

"No mayo? I love mayo!" Ann declared, "It's the best part of any burger. I load my burgers up with it till it's pouring over the sides and-" Ann droned on about her love for the fattening condiment on her hamburgers.

"…" Ryuji grimaced at the thought of all that mayo. The four continued to wait in line until making their way to the counter and ordering their food.

"Damn it's pretty crowded in here," Ryuji looked around for a table.

"We'll just get takeout," he told him, "We can eat outside on the street." He turned to the register to pay.

"She already paid for the food sir," the cashier told Akira.

"What?" Akira looked at Makoto, "Uh… thank you?"

"You're welcome," she told him, "I thought you two were low on cash after the movie."

"Wow, letting your girlfriend pay for the food," Ryuji teased Akira, "How progressive."

"Uh-huh," Ann crossed her arms, "I suppose you paying for all of this is suppose to impress me?"

"I'm just being a good boyfriend," Ryuji explained, "It's basically Rule 1 of the handbook to never let the girl pay for anything. It's not masculine!"

"I didn't realize you were so manly!" Ann sarcastically remarked, "You paid for my burger and fries! Here, hold my purse while I drop my panties for you!" Ryuji blushing at the thought of Ann doing just that as Akira handed them there to-go bag. The four headed outside to a nearby alley, sitting down on the ground as they dug into their respective meals.

"Ann stop stealing my fries!" Ryuji whined.

"They're in the bottom of the bag! How are they your fries?" she dug through the bag, Ryuji digging in as well as the two fought over the scraps like dogs.

"You want a bite of my chicken sandwich?" Makoto asked, "I'm still pretty full from the popcorn." Akira smiled at took a small bite, "It's kinda dry."

"That's why you need mayo," Ann took a big bite of her burger, mayo spilling out of the sides of her mouth. The four of them ate their food, hanging in a dungy old alley, hanging out as friends. Meanwhile, seated behind a nearby trash bin was Morgana, tears began running out of his eyes as he watched the four of them.

" _They're… they're dating_. _They really are DATING!_ " Morgana sat in reflection, " _How? What could I have done to deserve this. Is Ryuji doing this to spite me? This… I…"_ tears continued to flow out of the corners of his eyes, pouring to the ground as he watched Ryuji take a napkin and wiped Ann's mouth for her, the four of them laughing as Ann shoved the napkin on his face.

"I gotta say Big Bang Burger… not a bad idea man," Ryuji looked at Akira.

"It was," Makoto smiled, "I'm really full."

"We should head to the park to walk around," Ryuji jumped in to continue their plan, "Burn off some of these deep fried calories."

"Oh god that sounds good," Ann slapped her stomach with her hand, "I feel like I'm going to give birth!"

"Hopefully not to Ryuji's kid," Akira joked.

"Ann would be lucky to have my genes inside her," Ryuji argued, "Maybe someday if we become more than boyfriend and girlfriend they will be…" And there it was: boyfriend and girlfriend. Morgana heard the words spoken as clear as night and day. The two of them weren't just friends or trying to go out… they were a serious couple.

" _Boyfriend… boyfriend… BOYFRIEND!"_ Morgana internally raged, " _How could… she… AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH."_ Morgana let out a huge squeal as he rammed into the nearby trashcan, causing it to tumble over. Morgana quickly scurried away, as to avoid being seen. He needed to see them… be together… he needed to see the sins of their words and deeds in full.

"I would love to have kids with Akira someday," Makoto spoke.

"This is getting a little too serious for me," Akira stopped them. They threw their trash away, continuing to walk throughout the city as they eventually were drawn to the outskirts of the red light district.

"Two for one songs!" a woman in short skirt stood on the side of the street ahead, "Two for one! Tonight only!" she passed out a flyer to Akira.

"Karaoke?" Ryuji laughed.

"Yeah," he said looking at the flyer, "… We're doing it."

"Wait what?" Makoto looked at him.

"Two for one! We each get a song!" Akira told them.

"I don't know man," Ryuji frowned.

"Scared I'm a better singer than you?" Akira smirked.

"I know you probably sing better than me. I suck ass," he sighed.

"Well you know what… I have an idea," Akira looked at Ann, "Duets, Us versus you two. They usually have some sort of applause meter in places like that and whoever gets the most applause wins."

"And what is the bet here?" Ann asked, "Money?"

"Oh no, better than that," Akira smirked again, "If you two win… I will go up on stage and sing whatever song you two want me to sing and if, no, WHEN I win, Ryuji's gotta go up there and sing."

"Oh god," he groaned.

"We'll do it!" Ann took the flier out of Akira's hand, "I'm a pretty good singer."

"I guess… it's a bet then," Makoto smiled, "This is quite fun."

"How the hell do you guys talk me into this shit?" Ryuji moaned again, "I don't get it."

"Come on Ryuji," Ann took his arm, "If you win maybe I'll give you present later…"

"Present?" he perked up, "What kind of present?"

"It's a secret," Ann laughed, "Consider it motivation to win this." Ryuji looked at Ann and smiled.

" _That… THOT!"_ Morgana watched Ann flirt with Ryuji, " _THAT DIRTY DIRTY WHORE OF A WOMAN!_ "

"You're going down!" Ryuji slapped his hands together before running into the karaoke bar. The rest of the group followed him in. Inside, the bar was blanketed in a dim purplish neon. The place was pretty full, a lot of drunk business men loudly cheering and talking.

"Are you kids of the legal drinking age?" a waitress approached them.

"…" Makoto went wide eyed, "I'm sorry we n-"

"Yes we are," Akira pulled out a fake ID and handed it to the waitress, much to Makoto's surprise.

"… You look young for 23," she looked at the ID closer, "Kyoto huh, you guys are far from home," she handed it back.

"We'll take 4 beers!" Ryuji told her as he handed her his ID as well.

"Alright," she said, "There's an empty table over there for you guys." She walked away, heading towards the actual bar to pick up some drinks.

"Where the hell did you get a fake ID?" Makoto demanded.

"I got my sources," Akira told her.

"Sources?" Makoto questioned him further.

"Mishima," Ann sighed, "That little asshole is selling fake IDs now."

"How do you know that?" Ryuji looked at Ann.

"Because he's been selling them to every goddamn person in the school!" Ann told him, "He tried to sell them to me along with a bunch of chewing tobacco."

"I got one," he pulled it out to show; "I'm Ryuji Sakamoto the 21 year old from Oita."

"How does he have the resources to do these things?" Makoto asked as she looked over the card, "This is really well made."

"I really gotta sit down and talk with the kid because he's really… getting into some dark areas," Ryuji and the group sat down.

"He's just trying to fit in," Akira told Ryuji, "Remember the maid thing, except that was your idea."

"No!" Ryuji blushed, "That was a group effort! You we're the guy who made the call!"

"Maid?" Makoto asked.

"Did you guys try to hire one of those adult maids?" Ann laughed, "You two are effin perverts."

"We didn't have girlfriends, guys do crazy things when they don't have women in their lives," Akira looked at Makoto.

"Here are you beers," the waitress approached the table placing a drink in front of each of them, "Anything else I can get you four?"

"We're gonna do two duets," Akira told her, "Me and my girlfriend here," he placed his arm around Makoto, "And those two."

"Alright, I'll get the book so you can choose your songs," she walked away.

"Blgh!" Makoto coughed as she put the beer down, "That tastes awful. I shouldn't have tasted that."

"Yeah it's kinda rough," Ryuji took a sip, "You get use to it."

"…" Ann took a sip, "Yeah… no…" Ann pushed the drink away, "I don't know how you two can even drink that."

"It's an acquired taste," Ryuji took a sip.

"I use to steal beer out of the fridge all the time back home… dad always got pissed at me," Akira fondly remembered his time back home.

"You never talk about your parents," Makoto looked at Akira.

"Not much to say… I'm not the best son. I think they just wanted to get me out of their hair after…" Akira sighed.

"I doesn't matter man," Ryuji reassured Akira as the waitress finally brought over the book of songs. The two made their selections for duets before giving the books back., enjoying their drinks as they watched drunken businessmen singing in front of other drunken business men.

"Alright we're up," Makoto nervously got up.

"I got your song all picked out," Akira looked at Ryuji.

"Same goes to you!" Ryuji smiled as the two approached the stage. As Makoto grasped the mic she let out a huge nervous breathe as she looked for stability in Akira.

"Hello I'm Makoto and this is…" she spoke into the mic.

"No, you don't," Akira pushed the mic down, "You don't gotta introduce yourself." Akira grabbed the other mic. Soon the song began with slow piano music as the two looked down at the computer screen as lyrics came across. Akira was the first to sing in the song and he was quite good at it, much to their surprise.

Makoto on the other hand was missing her queues as she tried to sing in front of all these men and her friends, but was stumbling and muttering all over the place. Akira looked at her while she sand, taking her hand and singing with her. Over time she relaxed more and more and soon became one with Akira and the song.

As the song ended they received a moderate amount of applause from the drunken audience as Ryuji and Ann didn't clap, they didn't want to lose this contest.

"How were we," Makoto asked Ann as the two came back to their seats.

"Not bad!" Ann smiled.

"I hope you're ready for some real talent!" Ryuji grabbed Ann and jumped up on stage, "Alright! How we doing tonight!?" Ryuji screamed into the mic, causing a large amount of feedback to shriek throughout the bar, "Sorry…"

"Just don't be stupid," Ann groaned as the song began. Ryuji was the first to sing in this song and he was either flat or sharp on every almost every note. Akira sat there in completely confidence that he was the winner of this confidence as Ryuji did almost everything wrong. As the song continued Morgana was watching from a nearby window as he continued to cry

" _They're singing… about… making love… have they_ ," Morgana stared at them through the stained glass.

The song ended and the two received scattered applause as he realized that they had likely lost, dropping the mic and hanging his head in shame.

" R!" Akira clapped as Ryuji came back to his seat.

"Ughh…" Ryuji put his head down, "Please don't make me do it man."

"I'm afraid we already placed the song in," Akira smirked, "And you're up next!"

"AHH!" Ryuji cried out as he got up to the stage again, " _I'm really gonna kill him_ ," Ryuji thought to himself as the song began. The upbeat tempo began to rise as the three watched Ryuji begin to tap his foot to the beat, eyes glued to the screen as he tried to sing the song as best as he could.

"This is going to be amazing," Akira smirked.

"Humidity's rising…" Ryuji sang, "The Barometer's getting low… according to all sources. The street's the place to go! Cause tonight for the first time-just about half-past ten! For the first time in history! It's gonna start raining men!" he continued to sing, "IT'S RAINING MEN! HALLELUJAH IT'S RAINING MEN!"

It was only the first chorus and already Ann was in hysterics. She had her entire face hidden in her hands as she was trying to control her laughter. Makoto was covering her face with one hand as she had the other clenching her leg, she was laughing in a much more subdued manner, but as Ryuji got more and more into the song it only got worse.

"I'm gonna go out and let myself get," Ryuji cried out, "AB-SO-LUTE-LY SO-KING WET!"

Akira just sat there smirking as his friend made a genuine ass out of himself in front of all these drunks, some of whom were also in tears of laughter.

"God bless mother nature! She's a single woman too! She took off to heaven and she did what she-had-to-do!" pointed to the group, "She taught every angel and rearranged the sky so each and every wo-man could FIND THE PERFECT GUY."

"Thank you so much for agreeing to this bet," Ann laughed, "This is the greatest thing I've ever seen in my life." As the song went on Ryuji somehow became more and more flamboyant with his movements and sung his heart out.

"It's Raining Men!" he ended the song. The entire bar erupted in applause as Ann stood up with tears of laughter in her eyes, clapping for Ryuji. Ryuji, completely red now, took a bow to his audience before placing the microphone back in its holder and walking off.

"It's so natural for you, it's scary," Makoto laughed, "If I didn't know better I would think you were really were in a rainstorm of said men."

"Well it's not the first time he's been mistaken for that," Akira smiled.

"Yeah yeah laugh it up," Ryuji pulled out his wallet and looked at the bill, "I swear to god if any of you recorded that and I see it online I'm going to absolutely lose it."

"Relax," Ann leaned on him, "I'm here with you so people shouldn't mistake you for _that_."

"Thanks," he smiled.

"I don't know," Akira laughed, "Lots of closeted men have hot girlfriends." The group laughed as they paid their bill and left the bar, "Man it's a clear night out… let's go to the park and look at the stars."

"Okay," Makoto smiled.

* * *

"I'll be the first to say this, but this has been a wonderful night," Makoto told Akira, "This double date really was a good idea."

"Date's not over yet," Akira told her, "Night's pretty young and we're in the middle of a park…"

"There's a few little secluded spot over there with a couple of park benches if you wanted to… sit down for a little while," Ryuji pointed over to his left as he smirked at Ann.

"Secluded?" Ann looked at Ryuji, "Wait a minute… are you suggesting what I think you're trying to suggest?"

"Huh? No. Not that I know what you're talking about," Ryuji nervously chuckled.

"Because if I didn't know better I would say that all of this was some sort of elaborate dating plan so we would make out with you in the park," Ann looked at Ryuji directly in the eyes as beads of sweat poured off his face.

"It was," Akira told her.

"Goddamn it Akira!" Ryuji gasped out, "You don't admit that to them!"

"Well honesty is important," Akira told him, "I mean what's the worst thing that can happen?"

"They say no," Ryuji coughed.

"Do you wanna go sit down over there Makoto with me?" Akira asked.

"Uh-I-uh," she stammered on, "S-S-Sure!" Ryuji perked up as she agreed to Joker's request, his eyes turning to Ann, who was staring at him, her eyes saying everything that could be said.

"Well…" Ann looked at her phone, "I suppose… we could spend 20 minutes or so… sitting around."

"Y-Yeah!" Ryuji smiled and grabbed her by the hand, "We're gonna, uh, go sit over there!" he pointed to a bench a little ways down the path. He dragged Ann behind him as he headed away from Akira and Makoto like a giddy child.

"Shall we?" Akira extended his arm to Makoto. Makoto gave him a soft smile and took his hand, the two heading in the opposite direction that the others went. Meanwhile, in near distance Morgana had just arrived at the park, panting as he made his way into the park as sneakily as he could. He saw that the two couples had split up, choosing to follow Ann to see what they were intending to do. As he followed them, they sat down on a nearby bench.

"Sure is pretty out," Ann was looking at the sky

" _Say something cool Ryuji!_ " he pumped himself up, "You're the one that's pretty."

"Pffft," she laughed at him. She leaned into his arm, resting her head on his chest as the two continued to look up into the nighttime sky. Ryuji looked down at her, their eyes briefly meeting before going in for a kiss.

" _Lady… Ann!_ " Morgana screamed internally as he finally came across Ryuji and Ann, the two deep in their each other's mouths. Morgana watched in pure horror as Ryuji's tongue was poking the insides of Ann's chubby cheek. Inside her mouth Ryuji's tongue and hers playfully danced around every corner of her mouth. Their necks slightly swaying back and forth as Ryuji rubbed her arms with his hands. Slowly, but surely, Ryuji began to move his hands up to her shoulders, massage them as well. Then ever so slightly he moved his hand lower and lower till they were just above her breasts.

" _No…DON'T DO IT! DON'T LET HIM…_ " A single tear poured out of Morgana's eyes as he watched Ryuji finally move his hands right onto Ann's lushful breasts, giving a single squeeze as they continued to kiss.

"Mmmmhmhmhmh," Ryuji laughed into her mouth, Ann following as Ryuji continued to gently fondle her breasts. Morgana was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, tears flowing onto the ground as he quickly sprinted away from this nightmare of a scene. He had to find Akira and fast, he needed to know why his best friend had betrayed him and why he betrayed them. As he finally found where Akira was, the sight was just as bad as what he had seen before.

Akira had one hand on Makoto's chest and the other was cupping her left ass cheek, Makoto leaning over on his leg as they made out. Akira moved his hand in a circle around her thigh and back to her butt, Makoto letting out loud moans as Akira dipped to her neck, biting onto it and sucking. Morgana watched Akira and Makoto suck on their necks, running back to see if Ann had finally come to her sense. Back with the other couple, things had gone from bad to worse. Ann was now sitting on Ryuji's lap, his hands grasping her butt as Ryuji and Ann were now also sucking on their necks as well while running her hands all over his chest. Morgana started crying in a nearby bush, wiping his head against the ground as his eyes stung with salt. Soon, Morgana's sadness turned to ire as he watched the two continue to make out, planning on a confrontation.

"Excuse me!" a voice cried out as the two of them were blinded by a bright light.

"What the!" Ann fell off of Ryuji's lap and landed on her back. Ryuji looked over to his right to see a couple of police officers shining a flashlight in their direction. The two officers began to walk towards them as Ann quickly got on her feet, brushing off the dirt that was on her dress while trying to get her dress back in order.

"Are you two college students?" one of them asked.

"High school," Ryuji stood up straight and answered the officer directly.

"High school?" the officer looked at Ann, "You know how late it is out here? You kids got class tomorrow," he scolded them.

"We were just about to get going," Ann coughed as she pulled her phone out. She thought that Ryuji and her had been messing around for maybe 10 or 15 minutes, but much to Ann's surprise; 40 minutes had passed right by them.

"Well you two better get to bed," the other officer smiled as they walked away from them, "Stay safe out there."

"Yes sir!" Ryuji nervously laughed as he looked at Ann.

"Totally embarrassing," Ann sighed. The two walked back towards their original location, Makoto and Akira both already back there.

"What are you two doing back here?" Ryuji asked.

"Waiting for you," Akira told him, "We've been waiting for about ten minutes now."

"Really?" Ann blushed, "I didn't know you two were gonna be done so fast."

"Don't worry about it," Akira teased, "We should get going home; we got school tomorrow." He nodded towards Makoto as the four headed for the exit to the park; Ryuji falling back behind the girls giving a hidden low five to Akira over their accomplishments.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" a voice cried out. The four of them turned around to see Morgana standing directly behind them on the pathway. He was perched up on his hind legs, staring directly at them. In one quick motion he leaped all the way over to them and looked up.

"Morgana, what are you doing here?" Akira asked, "I told you to stay at home."

"I would have," he looked to Ryuji, "If he and Lady Ann hadn't shown up. I grew suspicious, the way you two were acting. The way Akira was acting. It was all too odd! Thus I had to follow you four!"

"You followed us?" Ryuji questioned Morgana, "For the whole night?"

"Indeed I did, I've seen everything you've done the whole night," he turned to Ann, "And what did I see? Betrayal! Lies! Perversion!"

"Morgana," Akira spoke to him.

"I saw you two holding hands… singing love songs… and you had his tongue in your mouth!" Morgana cried out to Ann, "He had his hand on your breast and your butt! How could you do such heinous acts with this blonde monkey of a man? Are you on drugs? Did he rape you?"

"NO!" Ann yelled, "We did those things because we are dating."

"Dating!? I KNEW IT! You defile yourself on a first date with the likes of HIM?" Morgana yelled back, "I thought better of you than some hussy Lady Ann!"

"We've been dating for 2 months now," Ann told him, "I'm surprised you haven't learned this. I figured Akira would've let you know last week." Ann looked at Akira who had a look of pure panic on his face along with regret.

"You!" he turned to Akira, "You hid this from me, didn't you? Why!?"

"It was for your own good Morgana," Akira told him, "If I told you the truth you would've freaked out."

"I think he's freaking out already," Makoto looked at Morgana's bloodshot eyes.

"We were going to tell you eventually you know," Ryuji told him.

"Why are you acting like this?" Ann asked, "Did you sniff too much catnip or something?"

"Lady Ann!" Morgana turned to her, "I must confess my love for you. You are the most elegant woman I have ever known my short time in this world and when I return to my human form I would like to go out with you."

"You are a cat!" Ryuji scolded.

"I AM NOT A CAT!" Morgana hissed towards Ryuji, "You stole the love of my life from me and for that… you must pay." He leapt up towards Ryuji, digging his sharp claws into Ryuji's forearm.

"Ah! You motherfu- AHHH," Morgana continued to scrape and claw violently at Ryuji's forearm. As Ryuji struggled, Morgana sunk his teeth in Ryuji hand, drawing two small pools of blood upwards.

"Morgana stop!" Makoto grabbed Morgana. He let out a sharp hiss and nipped Makoto's finger with all his might, "Oww!"

"Morgana!" Akira grabbed Morgana and pulled him off of Ryuji, the claws dragging their way out of Ryuji's skin. His arm was covered in blood scratch marks as he held it tightly against his gut in pain.

"Leave me alone Akira… I thought you were my friend and this is how you repay me for EVERYTHING! You all will PAY for this Ryuji… I will make you PAY," Morgana lept out of Akira's arms with a huge roar, "I shall have my vengeance on all of you!" Morgana scurried away as Ryuji continued to hold his arm in pain.

"Makoto!" Akira ran over to Makoto, who was holding her finger tightly. She showed Akira, a few droplets of blood falling onto the ground as she quickly clenched it again.

"Ah shit," Ryuji grunted out, "We effed up big time."

"Yeah…" Akira sighed as he looked at Ryuji's arm, blood seeping out from his arm, "We better get some bandages."

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Makoto asked Ryuji.

"Like shit," he muttered, still holding his arm. His dress shirt was now stained with blood as Ann and Akira were inside 777 buying medical supplies. The two emerged, a small plastic bag in Akria's arms. He set it down before Ryuji, pulling out a grey plastic bottle along with a rag.

"This is probably gonna hurt," Akira poured the contents of the bottle onto the rag, prying his friends arm away from his chest. Morgana had gotten some deep scratches into Ryuji's skin, slicing several times across his forearm. The worst cut was the one near his wrist, drawing the most blood. Akira slapped the rag onto Ryuji's arm, Ryuji letting out a yelp in pain as Akira cleaned the wounds.

"What the eff man!?" he jumped up in down in place, "That really hurts."

"It's so you don't get infected," Ann told him as she reached inside for some gauze. Once the wounds were properly cleaned Ann began to wrap Ryuji's arm in a thick layer of gauze before pulling out a roll of duct tape she had bought and wrapping a few straps around the gauze to hold it in place.

"This is gonna be a pain in the ass to get off," Ryuji bemoaned.

"Just use scissors!" Ann told him, "God you whine a lot. By the way, this really seems to be all of your fault any way for keeping Morgana in the dark, and me. Why didn't you tell me Morgana was acting this way about me?"

"Because it'd be awkward," Ryuji patted down the gauze, "Right?"

"Plus Morgana is really deluded," Akira walked over to Makoto, pulling out a package of finger bandages for Makoto. He held her small finger in the palm of his hand, softly wiping away the trace amounts of blood before laying a bandage over her fingertip, "Better?" he asked her softly.

"Yes," she smiled, "Thank you."

"Ann stopped with the effin duct tape!" Ryuji yelled as Ann wrapped a long piece of duct tape around Ryuji's arm.

"That part was loose!" she told him.

"Well we should be getting home," Akira told them all, "But first, we should all drop by Café LeBlanc to see if Morgana came back."

* * *

The four walked into Café LeBlanc, the place entirely empty as Sojiro leaned back on the counter, smoking a cigarette and watching the news.

"Oh your back," he smiled, "How did the date go…" he looked at Ryuji's arm, "…"

"We had an… accident," Ryuji smirked.

"If you don't mind me and Makoto are gonna go upstairs to… freshen up," Ann pulled on Makoto as the two made their way upstairs.

"…" Sojiro stared at Ryuji.

"What?" Ryuji went wide eyed, "I'll have you know that I got to SECOND BASE!" he cried out. Akira smiled as he gave a thumbs up to Sojiro, "So how do you like that? Telling us we're not gonna score and shit!"

"Well congratulations," Sojiro took a puff, "I assume it was skin on skin contact…"

"Well…" Ryuji blushed.

"Does it matter?" Akira asked.

"Ohhhhh," Sojiro took another puff, "Then I guess it really wasn't second base… nice try though. I'm sure after a few more months you'll get there." He threw his cigarette but into a nearby ash tray, "I'm leaving. And word of advice, don't try and funny business with those two here… it's for your own good." Sojiro walked out the door.

"Shit," Ryuji sighed.

"You want some coffee?" Akira asked as he went behind the counter and put on an apron. Ryuji sat down in a nearby booth as he continued to stroke his sore arm. Ann and Makoto eventually came down stairs, the two of them still dressed in their formal attire, but they had wiped off all their makeup and taken out of all their jewelry and let their hair down.

"Hmm?" Ryuji looked at Ann.

"What" she asked.

"You're not wearing any makeup!" he told her.

"Yeah," she said.

"It's weird!" he cried out, "It's weird right?" he looked to Akira who was looking at Makoto.

"A little," Akira smiled, "I don't mind."

"Yeah, no, Ann's still effin hot as shit," Ryuji oogled Ann's hair.

"I guess they pass that test?" Makoto asked.

"What test?" Ryuji looked at Ann.

"It's not really a test!" Ann sighed, "We just wanted to see how you two reacted to us au natural… except we'd be wearing regular clothes. I wanted to see if you two would say we were ugly or anything."

"Makoto could be beautiful wearing a potato sack," Akira walked over with two cups of coffee, handing them to each of the girls.

"…" Makoto smiled with a blush.

"Any sign of Morgana up there?" Akira asked.

"None," Makoto told him.

"Then you better stay the night here," Akira said.

"What!?" Makoto gasped.

"I was talking to Ryuji… although if you wanted to," Akira devilishly smiled.

"You men," Makoto sighed.

"Like I was saying," Akira continued on, "If Morgana comes back tonight Ryuji should be there to talk to him."

"Shouldn't Ann be there too?" Ryuji asked.

"I'm not staying the night with you either Ryuji," Ann shot through his thinly veiled offer, "He does bring up a good point though. What happens if Morgana appears at my house?"

"Morgana wanted revenge on Ryuji and me, not you," he explained, "Plus I'm unsure if Morgana even knows where you live."

"Morgana could be following us right now…" Makoto looked around, "He's very sneaky."

"Well if Morgana is listening then I'm right here!" Ryuji yelled out as he shot out of his seat, "And I'll be here all night so hit me with your best shot!"

"Just calm down man," Akira motioned for Ryuji to sit back down, "We're a team. Morgana is part of that team and this isn't the first time Morgana did this… we'll just have to weather the storm and talk to him once he comes back."

"Agreed," Makoto took a small sip of the coffee Akira brought over, "I really shouldn't be drink caffeine at this hour."

"I think we better get going," Ann got up, "Thanks for everything Ryuji. You too Akira. Despite this whole mess I genuinely had a good time."

"Night Ann," Ryuji smiled as Makoto and her left. As the door closed Akira and Ryuji looked at each other, letting out a big sigh of relief as they high fived and let out a victory cry as loud as they could. The two hung out for a little while longer in the lobby of LeBlanc, eventually moving to the attic to retire.

"You mind if I crash on the couch?" Ryuji asked.

"Unless you want to share a bed or sleep on the floor," Akira laughed.

"Nah man," Ryuji laughed too, "Only bed I'd share would be with Ann. Man, second base…" Ryuji daydreamed.

"It was everything I thought it'd be," Akira smiled.

"We're almost there… losing our virginities!" Ryuji thought aloud, "I can't wait, can you?"

"Nope," Akira sat down on the bed.

"Let me ask you a question," Ryuji laid on the couch, "So you and Makoto… when you go home what's the plan there."

"I don't know," Akira pondered, "I'm not that far away from here… I'd still like to see her provided we are still dating. What about you and Ann?"

"If me and Ann make it another year and a half?" Ryuji smiled, "I… I don't know. I don't have any major plans with my life and no one expects shit from me so… maybe I'll be a stay at home dad or something."

"Heh," Akira smiled, "I can't picture you as a father."

"Me either," he quickly retorted as he closed his eyes, "Good night man."

"Goodnight pal," Akira closed his eyes. It was always awkward sleeping without Morgana present, he had grown use to the warm weight of a cat on his lap throughout the night, but for now he just worried where he had gone and worse, what he was planning.


	4. Chapter 4

"Good Mor-" Sojiro responded as the two teenagers walked down the attic stairs, "GOOD LORD!"

"Yeah I slept over," Ryuji had walked down the stairs in the same clothes from the night before, his arm still bandaged up with the makeshift cast, but now had dark red bloodstains seeping through it, "Don't worry, the girls went back home."

"Sorry, I should have told you he'd be crashing here," Akira appeared from behind Ryuji.

"Not that you morons!" Sojiro continued to stare at them.

"What?" Ryuji asked, "Oh you mean these?" Ryuji pointed to his neck. His entire neck was covered in large purple bruises from the night before, Akira's neck literally the same as Ryuji's, with some of the bruises an even darker purple.

"You two are covered in hickies!" Sojiro stared at them.

"Yeah old man," Ryuji sat down at the counter, "Jealous?"

"Not at all," Sojiro stared at them, "Those types of things are suppose to be around your collarbone, where your clothes hide them. I would assume those girls know that so I'm guessing you two either gave them to each other last night for bragging rights or used the vacuum? If it's the latter I wanna know so I can through that thing out."

"Nope it was all Ann baby and I guarantee she looks like this too," Ryuji smirked, looking towards Akira who was smirking too, "I was like a vampire bat last night!" he chomped down with his mouth.

"Is it bad?" Akira's smirk quickly wiped away by Sojiro's glare.

"It's awful," Sojiro yelled at them.

"I'm sure it ain't that bad," Ryuji got up, "I gotta get going home to change my cast and shower and get new clothes. Hell of a night man! Hell of a night! Hey you got some curry for me to go? I'm effin starving! Making out with a chick works up an appetite!"

"Get the hell outta here. You're neck is making me sick," Sojiro pointed to the door. Ryuji laughed as he walked out the door as Akira sat down for breakfast.

"If I were you I'd go to the clinic down the street to get some cream for those or maybe makeup," Sojiro lectured Akira.

"Maybe Futaba has some makeup!" Akira spoke before immediately getting cut off by Sojiro.

"The hell she does!" Sojiro slammed his hand down on the counter.

"I kid," Akira smiled. Akira went about his normal morning routine of eating his morning curry. As he did so he wondered where Morgana had gone. He was hoping he'd be back by now, but this was now the second time Morgana had run off from him and it was always upsetting. He had grown accustom to that cat running every aspect of his life and now felt lost without him. He also wondered what he was going to say to Morgana to make this all better. Was there anything he could say? Maybe it wasn't his place to try to make Morgana feel better. Maybe he needed to talk with Ryuji, provided the two didn't kill each other in the first few minutes. As he finished up he grabbed his school bag, feeling surprisingly light without Morgana inside, heading out for school where he was looking forward to the one thing that all this was for, the admiration of his peers that he got some.

* * *

"Hey man," Ryuji ran up to Akira on the subway platform, "See you didn't cover up either!"

"No way I'm hiding these!" Akira bonded with Ryuji over their bruises.

"When the girls come to school and they have these too, I guess people are gonna know we're dating them," Ryuji realized.

"I think with the whole Morgana situation we're gonna have to come out to people now," he told Ryuji, "It's time, but let's see how they feel about it first." As the two boarded the subway they were waiting for people to notice them, but it never came. Everyone on the subway was minding their own business on their phones or reading something.

As they arrived at their stop, they stepped off and stood next to each other, deciding to walk together side-by-side to show off their badges of honor and sure enough people began to take notice. Several girls giggled and laughed as the two walked by, the two teens taking it as admiration and jealousy as they made their way towards the school gate.

"Yo what the hell?" a male student looked at the two, "That's nasty! Is that herpes?"

"No it's not herpes!" Ryuji stopped to scold the student, "Its love bites from our girlfriends!"

"GROSS!" another student cried out.

"Hey they're not having the reaction I thought they would," Ryuji turned to Akira.

"Let's see what Mishima thinks," Akira continued to walk to school. Inside the school they walked up to the second floor as almost everyone they came across drew their attention towards their necks. Finally, they found Mishima hanging out in his usual place.

"Hey Mishima!" Ryuji teased him as Mishima was messing around on his phone.

"What Ry-" he looked up, "HUH?" he stepped back, somewhat frightened by what he had seen, "Are those… hickies?"

"Yup!" Akira smiled, "Our girlfriends gave them to us."

"You two got girlfriends?" he went wide eyed, "Ah fuck no!" he began to cry, "Now I got no friends! You two are gonna abandon me to hang out with your girlfriends over me and I'm gonna be the third wheel and…"

"No one's leaving you!" Ryuji shoved him, "But be honest, these effin things are awesome."

"Yeah, they're cool! Wish I had them," he sighed. Mishima walked away in a dejected manner as the two continued to bask in their own self glory.

"Oh my god!" Ann ran over to the two guys. She was in her usually hoodie and school uniform, but her neck was flawless as far as they could tell. Not a single blemish stood out as Ryuji was walking around her to see if he had left any mark.

"Came to admire your artwork?" Akira joked.

"I came to see if you two idiots covered this shit up and here I see you are openly displaying them for all to see!" Ann cried out.

"Where's yours?" Ryuji asked, "I bit you hard a few times! I'm sure they left a mark!"

"I have a thick layer of makeup on," she pointed to her neck, "By the way. That crap isn't cheap! I use light dabs occasionally to cover zits but I used the whole goddamn bottle after I woke up to see my neck looked like I had leprosy! You're paying me back for it!"

"How much?" Ryuji asked, "1000 yen?"

"Try 9000!" Ann grabbed him by the collar.

"What 9000!?" Ryuji cried, "How the hell does a little bottle of makeup cost that much."

"Because you don't go through it very quickly you moron!" Ann continued to yell at him, "Plus I gotta go all the way to Chinatown and-" As the two argued like an old married couple Akira noticed Makoto walking up the stairs with a big fur coat on tightly. Akira ran over to her, walking up the stairs and meeting her as she climbed up.

"Hey!" Akira stopped her.

"Akira your neck!" Makoto blushed as she stared at his neck, "…"

"Is your neck like this too?" Akira asked.

"…" Makoto pulled the collar of the coat up as her eyes began to water up, "I don't know what to do! I don't want people to see it!"

"Huh? Hey, don't cry!" Akira panicked, "Okay, so let's… here… I got an idea," Akira pulled her into the student council room. Inside was just the two of them as Akira began to rummage through the drawers as Makoto sat down on the couch.

"My shirt collar covers most of it but," she pointed to the very top of her neck, "There's still bits poking out."

"It's okay, it's okay," Akira pulled out a small bottle of nail polish that was a tannish color. He sat down next to her, pulling off the cap and beginning to swab at the spots on Makoto's neck.

"That's not the color of my skin," she continued to panic.

"It's close enough, just don't agitate the area and don't draw attention to it," he explained the directions to her as he tried his best to even out the area. After several minutes of tinkering he think he got it just about right. As long as you didn't stare closely at the area you wouldn't notice it.

"Thank you," she smiled as their hands met on Makoto's lap, the two drawing in for a kiss as the door began to open. As it did, Akira shot out of his seat and onto his feet in order to create the appearance he was just talking to Makoto.

"As I was saying Madam President I was wondering if you could help the second year students with this issue that I have been discussing with you the past ten minutes," he spoke to her in a professional fashion.

"Uh, yes," Makoto got up and cleared her throat, "I will take a look at the budget and see if there's anything you can do," she reached out for his hand, grasping it firmly and shaking it, "Thank you Mr. Kurusu!"

"That you Madam President," he nodded and walked out of the room and back to class. Inside the classroom, the room was aflutter with the usual conversations as Ann silently sat at her desk staring out the window.

"Damn!" a student walked over to Akira as he sat down behind Ann, "Someone told me the transfer student had a bunch of bruises on his neck! Did you get strangled last night in another fight?"

"No I was on a date with my girlfriend and she did this to me," he told him.

"Girlfriend? Who?" he asked, "Does she go here?"

"Yes," he responded. He didn't know whether or not to tell the truth, but he figured that the best course of action would be to test the waters.

"Man what kind of girl would do that shit?" he stared, "It's… weird."

"It's not weird!" he tried to defend himself as several girls began to make fun of him. This was not working out quite as he planned; people in this school still talked behind his back and made fun of him despite everything he's done.

Meanwhile, in Ryuji's class, things were going a bit different.

"So yeah me and my GIRLFRIEND!" he yelled out, "We're out on a date last night and we went to the park. It was really quiet and we were all alone in the park," he was telling his story to every guy in the class as he leaned up against the back wall, "We're sitting together, on this little park bench and she looks up and says 'Wow the stars are beautiful!'" he smirked, "And I told her, 'You… are the one that's beautiful baby!'"

"Damn Ryuji!" a male student laughed.

"Damn right!" he high fived the guy, "And she just melted in my hands and BOOM we're making out. She's got her hands on my chest and she's GRINDING," he made a grinding motion with his hips, "Right into me! You know? This guys knows!" he pointed to one of the onlookers, "Then, I take my hand and I place it right on her tit and give it a good hard squeeze," he mimicked his motion as the guys hooted and hollered, "And I take my other hand and do the same and I go to town on those effin things! Seriously let me tell you! She is not going to need to check herself for breast cancer for over a year! I worked them over good!"

"NICE!" a student cried out, "What did it feel like."

"It felt like heaven dude!" Ryuji made that dumb face of his, "Then she latches on to my neck like a leech and starts sucking! And I'm running my hands all over her breasts and then her ass which I give a nice squeeze too! Man it was awesome!"

"So then what happened?" someone asked.

"Then after a while I took her home and gave her a goodnight kiss," he bragged, "So no I didn't score, per say, but needless to say I scored in a way!" he continued to brag.

"I bet she's dog faced!" a male student spoke out, "Flat chested, flat assed, dog face looking gal!"

"Oh no, if you saw her you'd be stunned," he told him, "In fact you all probably have seen her today. She goes to this school you know…"

"Really?" a girl spoke up, most of them listening to the story in their own little secluded group, "Who is it?"

"I can't say… she'd get all mad," Ryuji stood up from the wall, "Maybe I'll tell you today… tomorrow… someday, but for now just know that I… I'm a god!"

"We'll see when we see this girl," he told Ryuji.

"Hey man you just missed this awesome story Ryuji was telling about how he got all those love bites from his girlfriend," a male student filled in another male student who had just walked into the room. He was a small nerdy black haired man, kinda like Akira, but with straighter hair in a bowl cut fashion and thicker glasses.

"You me that blonde girl from 2-D?" he asked.

"Huh?" several students looked at him, including Ryuji who began to freak out that the jig was up.

"Ryuji's girlfriend is the one girl from 2-D, the one with the blonde pigtails, I forget her name. I saw the two of them on a date last week at a ramen shop. They we're holding hands so I assume that you two are related or dating, correct?"

"Ann Takamaki?" a girl asked.

"Wait you're dating Ann?" a male student looked at Ryuji.

"Well you know… it's kinda… well…" he tried to think of an excuse, "…Alright you got me! Ann Takamaki is the girl! No sense hiding it anymore!"

"Alright… you're a god," the student admitted.

"You ran your hands over THAT girls chest! OHHH!" another male cried out, "She's got some big tits man!"

"I can't believe Ann is dating him," a girl spoke softly to another girl.

"Worse that shit let him feel her up… what a slut!" the other girl spoke, "The other girls on the volleyball team gotta hear about this one."

"Isn't that some next level irony, Kamoshida fucks Ann and then he fucks Ann," a girl joked.

* * *

"…" a couple girls stared at Ann who quickly noticed before they turned away, giggling and laughing as the teacher scolded them to be quiet. Ann felt her phone begin to vibrate as she pulled it out to see a new text from her best friend Shiho.

_Shiho: Ann, are you and Ryuji dating?_

Ann seemed stunned that Shiho was asking this. She didn't mean to keep info from her best friend, especially after everything that happened, but she was never really hiding that info from Shiho and she easily could've picked up on it.

_Ann: What makes you say that?_

_Shiho: Several members of the team are talking about it. Apparently Ryuji was telling all the kids in his class about your date last night._

_Ann: What did he say!?_

_Shiho: I'm happy for you two. Honestly._

_Ann: Thank you, but what did he say I did?_

_Shiho: He was talking about how you let him feel your breasts._

Ann clenched her phone as hard as she could as she opened up a new text bubble with Ryuji.

_Ann: Did you tell everyone about our date last night?_

_Ryuji: I didn't use your name. Some kid in my class saw us last night and told everyone that you were the girl I was talking about._

_Ann: You still blabbed to everyone that you felt me up!_

_Ryuji: Guys do that! I never meant to have it be traced back to you! I swear! Please don't break up with me!_

_Ann: You're a moron! We'll talk about this after class!_

Ann slammed her phone down in her little cubby as she waited for lunch break to arrive. Minute by minute it ticked closer and as it did Ann's frustration and paranoia grew. Everyone little giggle and stare and note passed in class was attributed to her and she couldn't stand it. Finally, when the fateful hour arrived she stood up and walked right out of class and into the hall to find Ryuji.

"I may have over exaggerated some details in the story," Ryuji explained to a couple of guys in the hall, "If you could just-" the two looked behind Ryuji to see Ann turning the corner and staring down Ryuji as she marched to him.

"What?" he turned around, "Shit shit shit! Guys you gotta-" he turned back around to see if they could help him, but they had scattered.

"Ryuji!" Ann scolded him.

"Ann… baby!" Ryuji smiled as Ann delivered the mother of all slaps to Ryuji's face, causing his head to slam into the hard wooden wall as several students gasped at the sheer anger of Ann.

"Owwwwwww," Ryuji stumbled back a few steps, "Okay… I deserved that."

"You're lucky I don't do it again," she grabbed him by his shirt, "Don't brag about feeling me up to the entire class you moron!" she continued to scold him.

"I didn't mean to, it was just bragging, I'm sorry," he pleaded.

"Just don't do it again dumbass!" Ann yelled.

"So we're still boyfriend and girlfriend, right?" Ryuji asked.

"Ugh," Ann sighed and let go of his shirt, "Yes, we're still dating. I'm just disappointed in you… god I sound like my mom!"

"He you're mom is," Ryuji stopped himself midsentence. What he was going to say was that her mom was pretty hot, but something inside him realized that was a bad idea, "A wonderful woman," he corrected himself, "I've been telling people I've been somewhat… lying about the details."

"Well thanks I guess," she looked around as several students continued to stare at them.

"So this is what it's like to be a couple in public," he smiled before looking at her. He leaned over and kissed her on the lips, Ann shocked as she didn't want to be the subject of more attention today.

"Woo!" a male student cheered Ryuji on.

"Alright break it up!" a male student walked by them, "No PDA!"

"Uh, sorry," Ryuji broke the kiss as Ann's face filled red with embarrassment, "Lunch?"

"I suppose it'd be okay now to eat lunch with my boyfriend," Ann sighed, "Even though I'm still mad at you."

"Great! I brought caramels!" he held up his bag, "You like caramels, right? Come on Ann, I know that sweet tooth of yours can't stay mad at me forever." He teased.

"You're lucky I like candy so much," she sighed as he locked his arm around hers.

* * *

Class was almost over, just another 15 minutes to go as Akira stared down the clock. As he did his phone chimed, as well as Ann's. They looked down to see that a new group chat had been started.

_Futaba: We have a problem_

_Akira: What?_

_Futaba: I think it's Morgana!_

_Ryuji: You found him?_

_Haru: Morgana went missing! Oh no!_

_Yusuke: Morgana has gone missing again?_

_Akira: It's complicated._

_Ryuji: It's no complicated, just… well complicated I guess, but let's meet up at the hideout and I can explain it to you all._

_Akira: Agreed_

* * *

"Everyone's here," Akira sat down in his chair. Ryuji was seated next to him reading a magazine as Ann was on the couch reading her phone. Makoto had her study materials all laid out and was working on some grammatical problems as Yusuke was framing the environment, in his view was Haru sitting on the couch next to Ann as she sipped some coffee. Futaba was the last to arrive with her laptop tucked under her arm.

"First order of business," she slammed the computer on the table, "There's something some people need to come clean with!"

"Come clean?" Haru gasped, "What's wrong?"

"Ryuji, would you like to say anything that you would consider important information to the group," Futaba stared him down, "Because if you won't I will!"

"I've been waiting for this!" he stood up and put his hand on his chest, "I would officially like to tell all of you that I, for the past few weeks, have been dating our lovely Ann Takamaki," he pointed to her.

"You two are... dating?" Haru looked at Ann.

"You've taken Sakamoto as a lover," Yusuke gasped.

"I'm not his lover Yusuke!" Ann shouted, "We haven't done THAT."

"Yet," Ryuji peered over to Yusuke.

"Pray tell how you knew this Futaba," Yusuke looked over at Futaba.

"The cafe's bugged," she explained, "The two were in here last night after a date. By the way Akira and Makoto are also lovers."

"You too?" Haru asked.

"Uh, I, uh," Makoto blushed.

"Well we haven't done that either," Akira smiled, "But yes we are dating."

"The group is dating from within!" Haru looked around at the two couples, "Is that what's wrong with your necks? Did they… attack you in a fight?"

"What?" Ann looked at Haru, "No they're just… love bites… you know?"

"Love bites?" Haru didn't know what she meant.

"It means they were sucking on the other persons neck for a long time until the veins broke and caused bruises!" Futaba explained, "The two of them were bragging about it last night in here as well as this morning to Sojiro."

"So the café is still bugged?" Akira looked at Futaba, "I thought I told you not to do that!"

"…" Futaba placed her hand on her laptop.

"Is my room bugged?" Akira looked around and then back at Futaba who was now squatting down near the ground, "Futaba…"

"Hmm?" she groaned.

"Futaba are you bugging me?" Akira asked.

"… I'll get them out in a week or so…" Futaba softly spoke.

"So you've seen everything that's gone on in this room for how long now?" Akira asked.

"Wait, everything?" Makoto blushed, "Do you mean she saw us…"

"So you two performed the act of intercourse here?" Yusuke asked.

"NO!" Makoto shouted, "We just shared some… intimate moments in here… on this couch."

'EWW!" Haru shot out of her seat.

"Not like that!" Akira moaned.

"Regardless," Makoto coughed, "Morgana has an, well, affection towards Ann and he found out about Ryuji and her and thus ran away after learning the two were dating."

"Which would then explain this," Futaba pulled out a small calling card. The card was a haphazardly torn piece of red construction paper with almost illegible scribbling on it in some black marker.

"What is it?" Akira asked.

"It's a calling card addressed to Ryuji," Futaba handed it to Akria. He read it over several time to make sure he understood what was being said before reading it aloud.

_To The Dreadful Boy Monkey Fool Called Ryuji Sakamoto!_

_I, the sole founder of The Phantom Thieves of Hearts, will steal your wicked heart and you will pay for your deeds against me._

_-Signed Mona_

"He left me a calling card?" Ryuji grabbed it, "Wait, does this mean I have a palace? Did Morgana find it and navigate it already? What's my treasure?"

"Let's see," Akira pulled his phone out, "Ryuji Sakamoto… Shujin… track and field?" no response.

"Ryuji girlfriend Ann!" Futaba shouted into the phone with still no response.

"Ryuji! Ann! Possibly homosexual!" Yusuke spoke into the phone.

"Possibly homosexual?" Ryuji stared at Yusuke, "I have a hot girlfriend!"

"Lots of men of that affinity have girlfriends," Yusuke brushed his hair, "I just figured your various run-ins with others of the same affinity was the universe's way of telling you something."

"Ryuji! Running! Blonde! Sex! Ann! Beach! Nudity! Lust!" Akira was just shouting words into the phone with no luck that he thought would pertain to the situation, "I don't think you have a palace."

"Oh thank god," Ryuji sighed, "For a minute there I thought I was going to die!"

"So what's the purpose of the card?" Yusuke asked.

"I think it's obvious what Ryuji's treasure would be! Think about it! Ann stole his heart by becoming his girlfriend and thus she has his heart," Futaba explained.

"So what's the treasure?" Akira asked.

"Ann!" Futaba mocked him for being so obtuse.

"So Ann is the treasure that holds his heart?" Haru pondered.

"But how would he-" Haru thought aloud as Ryuji's phone began to ring. As he looked at the caller ID he almost didn't pick up, but something inside him told him to answer.

"Yeah?" he answered.

"Hello Ryuji!" a familiar voice cried out over the phone in an evil tone.

"Morgana?" Ryuji cried out, drawing everyone's attention to him. He placed the phone on the table and immediately pressed the speaker tone.

"Morgana is that you?" Akira asked.

"Come back home Morgana! We miss you!" Haru sadly spoke into the phone.

"It's me and I'm not coming back… yet… I wanted to call Ryuji to challenge him to a duel!" Morgana cried.

"A duel?" Haru asked, "Morgana what's wrong? Tell me."

"Me and you Ryuji! We battle to the death and the winner will emerge and claim the treasure! Comes to mementos and come alone! There we shall battle!" Morgana taunted him.

"And what if I don't?" Ryuji asked.

"Then I sell you out as a Phantom Thief!" he retorted.

"You wouldn't!" Ryuji cried.

"Morgana cease this aggravation!" Yusuke commanded Morgana.

"There's plenty of evidence… audio and visual that you are a Phantom Thief and our group will continue if one member happens to get their sorry ass thrown into jail! Today! Come and face me like a man to battle for Lady Ann!" Morgana hung up the phone.

"He appears he's gone mad with lust and power," Yusuke rubbed his chin.

"What should I do man?" Ryuji asked.

"…" Akria thought, "I don't know."

"Morgana's not gonna sell us out because of me dating Ryuji, right?" Ann panicked, "That's stupid!"

"He's acting highly illogical," Futaba told them, "Ryuji may have to duel him."

"I'm not going to kill Morgana! We have our differences sure, but I don't want to kill him," Ryuji told them all.

"Then the other options is you two need to stop dating," Yusuke confirmed, "You said yourself that you two are not lovers. Thus it might be beneficial to everyone if you two broke up."

"I hate to say it but he might be right," Akira tapped his foot.

"Come on man!" Ryuji cried out.

"Morgana is only gonna come back if he thinks he has a chance with Ann and thus her being single…" Akira suggested.

"Ultimately we can't make this decision for you," Makoto looked at the two.

"I see two options," Futaba sat down, "Plan A is Ryuji and Ann break up. We tell Morgana and he will most certainly come back. Plan B is Ryuji fights him and somehow not kill him and not get killed."

"… I don't want Ryuji to fight Morgana," Ann spoke.

"Ann, what are you saying?" Ryuji looked at Ann.

"… We'll give you two some privacy, but let's go to the entrance of mementos and wait for them. If they decide for Ryuji to fight Morgana we'll be waiting. Otherwise, just text us that you broke up so we can tell Morgana," Akira explained, "Come on, let's let them talk." The rest of the group left the hangout except for Ryuji and Ann who sat down on the couch next to each other.

"…" Ryuji looked down at his lap.

"Maybe it's for the best," Ann grabbed his hand, "We're not really made for each other. We're always fighting and now people know about us and it's really awkward."

"I don't-" Ryuji tried to think of something to say, "Ann I… I…" he took a deep breath, "Ann I care about you very much." He grasped her hands tightly, "You are the most beautiful girl I have ever known and I'm so effin lucky to be with you and… I don't wanna break up."

"I don't want you to kill Morgana!" Ann spoke with a rattle in her throat.

"I won't!" he spoke, "But at the same time I don't want this wonderful relationship of ours to end because some dumb cat or anyone else is jealous! Screw him! I'm not gonna give you up that easy. Ann I will fight and bleed for you as a teammate, as a friend, and as your boyfriend! Now I'm going to mementos, I'm gonna find Morgana, and I'm gonna beat some sense into him!" he stormed out of attic.

"Ryuji…" Ann reached out for him, but it was too late and he had stormed out of Leblanc.

* * *

"Plan B," Ryuji spoke as he arrived in mementos, the others waiting near the entrance.

"Plan B," Akira walked over to him, "Don't kill him."

"I won't, but I gotta give him a beating to end all beatings," Ryuji hopped down onto the tracks, "Don't wait up for me… this is gonna get personal."

"A man… fighting for the woman he loves… it's beautiful," Yusuke watched Ryuji walk into the darkness; "I must draw this!" he ran over to his sketch pad and began to violently draw lines on the pages.

Ryuji began his slow march, alone, into the depth of mementos. Being alone in a place like this was frightening as he watched the trains and shadows pass him by. At the same time he knew Morgana was watching him, waiting for the right moment to pounce.

"Morgana!" Ryuji cried out, "Here kitty kitty kitty," he looked around as he approached a four way. He stopped in his tracks as he thought he heard the echoes of a meow coming from some direction, he began spinning around looking for the source, "Show Yourself Morgana!" Then, it happened, as quick as a bullet Ryuji heard the roar of an engine from behind him as he quickly spun to the side, Morgana barely grazing him as he watched Morgana's bus form zoom down the tracks.

"Ryuji!" he yelled, "Come and face your DOOM!"

"Morgana!" Ryuji began to chase after him. The two sped around mementos as they eventually drew into a large corner room. In the center stood a large stone pillar covered in red veins as Morgana skidded around and transformed back into a car near the opposite end of the entrance. Ryuji walked in slowly, looking at Morgana's angry scowl.

"Ryuji… Sakamoto…" Morgana took a couple of steps forward, "You've come to face me, Morgana, in a duel!"

"I have," Ryuji walked over to Morgana, looking down at him.

"So you refuse to give up Lady Ann to ME!?" he screamed.

"She's not yours took take you dumb cat!" Ryuji crouched down, "We're dating. She agreed to date me and I agreed to date her. The feelings are mutual!"

"You tricked her! I know it," Morgana turned around, "What would she see in a man the likes of YOU over ME?" he demanded to know.

"I'm a human! You're a cat! We've been friends for a long time and I took that leap of faith and now we're dating!" Ryuji explained.

"Do you love her?" Morgana asked, "Tell me!"

"It's not that simple Morgana," Ryuji blushed.

"Because I love her! I know I love her. Every time I see her I go absolutely crazy inside. When she touches me my heart melts. When she texts Joker I lose myself in thoughts of being with her," Morgana was rambling on, "I love her! Do you really love Ann like I do?"

"…" Ryuji looked at Morgana, "… Maybe… I think I'm… falling in love with her…" he tried to understand what he really felt about Ann. She was a great girlfriend and a great friend. They enjoyed each other's company and loved to text and talk and hung out almost every day. Was this what love was? Was it too early?

"I see," Morgana frowned, "Then we must duel." Morgana pulled out his small sword, "We are The Phantom Thieves of Hearts and I will stop a rotten human like you from further leading Lady Ann into such depravities!" Morgana screeched as he summoned Zorro. Ryuji hopped out of the way as a large boxing glove came flying towards him.

"Morgana I'm not gonna fight you!" Ryuji continued to run from the flurry of punches Morgana was throwing at him.

"Fight me you COWARD!" he yelled as he chased him around the room. Finally a single punch managed to land against the back of Ryuji's head that sent him somersaulting into the wall. As he reoriented himself he watched Morgana approach with his sword in hand, ready to swing. As he swung, Ryuji delivered a hard kick to Morgana's abdomen that sent Morgana flying towards the ceiling.

"I tried diplomacy, but now I have to give you an ass kicking!" Ryuji ripped his mask off as Captain Kidd appeared behind him. Ryuji pointed towards Morgana as a large bolt of electricity shot right at Morgana, sending thousands of volts into his tiny little body as Morgana let out a horrible death rattle of a scream. Morgana collapsed, his hair standing up straight as smoke cracked from his body. Ryuji walked over to Morgana, who was face down and likely unconscious on the ground, "Morgana, are you done?" he watched Morgana begin to stir.

Then, suddenly Morgana lept onto Ryuji's face, biting and scratching as Ryuji tried to rip Morgana off him. Morgana dug his claws into Ryuji's mask as he began to pull it away from his face, sticky blood peeling off as well. Soon, Morgana managed to pull the whole mask off and flung it to the side, Ryuji falling to the ground in pain as blood poured out from his face.

"No more Persona!" Morgana laughed, "I have you now!" Ryuji managed to compose himself as he wiped blood from his eyes. He knew if he could get his mask back he could summon his persona and end this, but Morgana now had his slingshot in hand and began to pelt Ryuji with large melt balls all over his body. He fell to his knees as one ball after the other bounced off his skin. Finally Morgana ran out of ammo and walked over to the stunned teenager, hopping onto his shoulders as he stared him in his bloody face.

"Anything to say?" Morgana raised his tiny little fist.

"Those bruises are gonna go well with the bruises Ann left me," Ryuji pointed to his neck, using the time to send on last insult to Morgana. Morgana yelled as he began to wail on Ryuji's face, hitting every square inch with his tiny, but powerful, fists as Ryuji consciousness began to go. Soon he fell to his back, Morgana falling off and dragging him by his red ascot to the center of the room. He placed him against the pillar as Morana pulled out a small side arm he had stolen from Akira's inventory, aiming the barrel towards Ryuji as best he could.

"MORGANA STOP!" Akira cried out as he looked to see the rest of the thieves, including Ann, running towards the two.

"I told you not to bring the others!" Morgana cried out.

"That's enough," Ann stepped forward towards Morgana who held the gun tight on Ryuji to keep them back.

"I have to do this!" Morgana pleaded, "For Lady Ann!"

"Morgana why on earth do you think I would want you to kill Ryuji?" Ann yelled.

"So we're dropping the code names I take it?" Futaba asked with no response.

"Because… he tricked you!" Morgana shook his head, "You think you love him, but you don't! I love you! I always loved you! That's why I have to do this to be with you and make you happy!"

"Morgana I don't want to be with you!" Ann told him.

"Liar! He's brainwashed you into thinking that! Look at him," he looked at the bloody and broken Ryuji, "He's a loser! He was on the verge of being expelled and ending up as a homeless teenage reject before I saved you all. I saved you from Kamoshida! I gave you all the powers to change the world! I-"

"You are acting like Kamoshida!" Ann scowled.

"What?" Morgana asked.

"You are using the people I care about to gain leverage over me for your own desires!" she clenched her fists, "You physically abused one of my best friends! You attacked him in the park! You attacked Makoto in the park! You ran away and forced him to fight you! If anything YOU are the really villain here!"

"…" Morgana continued to point the gun, "That's not true! I-I-I!"

"Morgana, it's time to come home and end all this," Akira approached him.

"Morgana," Ryuji spoke up, as Morgana turned to face with with the gun once more, "If you really think this is what Ann wants, then shoot me, but I know deep down, if you really care about her… you won't."

"Don't… ARGH," Morgana cried out in pain, "Stop tricking me! I will… I… I… I… I…" the gun trembled in Morgana's small hands before falling on its side before Morgana fell on his belly, "I'm sorry." he began to cry.

"Apology accepted," Ryuji spoke.

"Wait so just like that you're gonna forgive him!?" Ann looked at Ryuji.

"I know, right?" he laughed, "I should kick his ass, but I'm not gonna," Morgana regained his composure and stood up, "Because Morgana is my… friend… and I know that he had good intentions, he just doesn't know how to properly channel them. And for what it's worth he did kind of save us."

"…" Morgana looked away as anger came over his face.

"That's very mature of you," Akira responded.

"I learned it from the best," he smiled at Akira as he continued his little speech, "Morgana's a tough fighter and I know that-"

**BANG!**

"AHHHHH!" Ryuji fell over as everyone looked at Morgana. Morgana looked down to realize that he had accidentally placed his foot in the finger holder of the pistol and when he went to step away, he hooked onto the trigger and fired the gun.

"Joker I didn't-" Morgana went wide eyed.

"HE SHOT ME!" Ryuji curled up in a ball, "IN MY… I THINK HE SHOT MY IN THE NUTS!"

"He shot your testicles?" Yusuke stared at Ryuji who now was rolling around in pain.

"YOU LITTLE!" Ryuji began to cry, "AHHHHHHH!" the others ran over to comfort Ryuji who writhed in immense pain.

"Hold on let me see where it hit you," Akira ran over to Ryuji.

"Hey man don't feel my package! Only Ann should do that!" Ryuji told him.

"…" Morgana once more felt jealous.

"Shut up Ryuji," Ann rolled her eyes as Akira began to undo his belt buckle. The others turned away, including Ann as Akira took a look.

"Don't stare at it dude!" Ryuji cried out, "Just tell me if I'm still a man!"

"…" Akira looked around, "Thank god, it appears to have just grazed the skin of your inner thigh."

"OH THANK YOU!" Ryuji laughed in pain, "OH GOD I THOUGHT I LOST MY DICK FOR A SECOND THERE! OHH!"

"You still gotta get to a hospital," Akira told him as he grabbed Ryuji's ascot and shoved it into Ryuji's pants to cease the bleeding, "It needs stitches."

"A hospital is gonna want to know how a teenage boy got shot," Makoto looked at Akira.

"Well take him to Tae, she can patch you up with no questions asked," he told her.

"The hot goth lady doc?" Ryuji chuckled, "I'm fine with her doing it."

"Of course you are," Ann rolled her eyes again as they managed to hoist Ryuji and walked him back to the entrance of mementos as Ryuji held his legs together as tight as possible.

"So, uh…" Morgana tried to speak up, "This is… embarrassing."

"We'll deal with this later, for now let's just focus on getting Ryuji to the hospital," Ann told him as she didn't even bother to look him in the eye.

"I already forgave you dumbass!" Ryuji grunted out, "Then you SHOT ME!"

"Accidentally…" he sighed as they made their way back towards the entrance, Morgana dreading the conversation with Ann that was soon to follow after the stupidity he had put them all through.


	5. Chapter 5

"Owwwww," Ryuji limped out of the entrance to mementos.

"You're still shot even in this reality?" Futaba looked over at their wounded companion, "So much for that idea."

"I think I know why," Akira looked over at the gun he had taken from Morgana, "This is a real gun!" he quickly hid it in his school bag.

"Where the hell did you get a real gun?" Ryuji cursed.

"I stole it from the mob," Morgana confessed, "I walked into a mob bar and just tugged it out with my mouth and into mementos," he told them.

"You stole a real gun?" Futaba gasped, "You were really gonna kill Ryuji?"

"…" Morgana looked back down at the ground.

"Can someone please get me some paper towels or shit?" Ryuji barked through his teeth, "I'm bleeding out and the ascot is gone!"

"Where's the bathroom?" Futaba looked around for some sort of public restroom, "I don't see one near here."

"Oh my god I'm gonna bleed out and die a virgin!" he cried.

"They're usually a little ways in," Ann walked down the stairs with the rest of the girls, "Just hold still, we'll be right back." The four of them ran off, leaving Morgana and the three men to their own devices.

"Perhaps this may not be the best time, but I was wondering if you could answer a question for me," Yusuke looked at Ryuji, sweat was running off his forehead as he tried to steady his breathing.

"Sure man," he joked through the pain, "I can answer any question in the state I'm in!"

"Excellent," Yusuke pulled out a drawing pad, "There are several nude concept sketches I've been working on pertaining to Ann," he flipped through the book and showed Ryuji.

"Oh my god Yusuke!" Akira looked at the book as Yusuke flipped through page after page of very well detailed drawings on Ann, "That's not at all appropriate!" Morgana perked his head up and began to walk over towards the three of them, trying to get a look at Yusuke's book, but was unable due to his short stature.

"The main obstacles I've come across are what Ann's areolas would look like and the consistency and style of the hair on her Mons Venus," he pointed to one of the drawings, "Could you perhaps enlighten me on what that entails."

"Dude I don't know what Ann's nipples or her WHATEVER look like," he blushed.

"Mons Venus," Yusuke explained, "It's the region of skin over the pubic bone that many artists-"

"Yusuke put those away!" Akira closed the book on his hands, "That's so wrong! You do that to every female you meet?"

"I could, I've always been fascinated by human sexuality," he pondered, "Would either of you be willing to perform intercourse with your girlfriends and have me watch so I can paint it?"

"No dude! I'm not gonna fuck Ann and let you watch!" Ryuji yelled, clutching his crotch in pain.

"You could also video tape it," he told Ryuji, "The offer stands for you as well," he nodded towards Akira.

"I would also like to see that video tape," Morgana spoke up.

"Quiet you!" Akira put Morgana down, "And no, neither of us are doing that for you!"

"Doing what for Yusuke?" Makoto asked as the four girls asked as they returned empty handed.

"Nothing," Akira quickly pushed Yusuke sketch book to the side.

"Where are the paper towels?" Ryuji cried.

"They didn't have any," Ann shrugged, "I'm sure it's not that bad. It only grazed you, right?"

"There are several drops of blood on the ground," Akira looked down between Ryuji's feet as another drop happened to drip out of his pants and onto the ground.

"Dammit I just need something to absorb the blood!" Ryuji yelled at them.

"Oh wait DUH!" Ann laughed as she reached into her purse and ruffled around near the bottom, pulling out a small object wrapped in some sort of paper.

"What's that?" Akria asked as she tore the paper off, the three guys all immediately growing as pale as ghosts and turning away once they realized what it was.

"Come on Ann don't pull that out in public!" Ryuji continued to look away

"What?" she walked over, "This will absorb the blood dummy!"

"I'm not putting a tampon in my pants!" he looked at her as she had the tampon already pushed out of the tube and was holding it right up to his face, "Get that thing the hell away from me!"

"Just put it in your pants," she forced his hand to grasp the small cotton cylinder and forced his hand down his pants.

"It's not gonna hold Ann!" he told her.

"Hold your legs together," she commanded him, "Better?"

"Ugh," he looked down, "I guess."

"Great let's go to the hospital then," she told him.

"I can't walk and hold it in place," he showed them as he tried to hop along.

"Then I shall carry you," Yusuke scooped Ryuji up in his arms like a woman.

"Wow Yusuke you are so strong!" Futaba gasped.

"I am merely helping my friend," he smiled with his eyes closed.

"Can we just go to the hospital so I don't die!" Ryuji whined.

"Yes, but I'm afraid I will need one of you to pay for my subway ticket as I only have 6 yen on me," he began to walk with Ryuji in his arms.

"I'll pay," Akira walked over to the ticket booth. The group went through the ticket gate, drawing many eyes as Yusuke continued to hold Ryuji as tight as possible, cradling his head like baby as Ryuji simply wanted to disappear off the face of the earth. Eventually, the train arrived and they boarded. On board, Ryuji climbed out of Yusuke's arms and sat down on an available seat while the others stood around him.

"How are you feeling?" Haru asked Ryuji, "It's been a big day for everyone."

"I don't wanna hear it," Ryuji sighed.

"Knock it off guys, Ryuji's just moody," Ann explained, "He just became a woman for the first time today." The girls all softly giggled to themselves.

"Not funny Ann!" Ryuji scolded her.

"How are you feeling Ryuji? Do you have any fatigue or cramps? That's really common with what you are going through," Futaba smiled, "I buy mine in bulk off the internet so if you want I can help you figure out what brand you like for a reasonable price. Get's delivered right to your door with next day shipping!"

"I said I don't wanna hear about your womanly problems!" Ryuji continued to scold the laughing girls, Akira popping a smile as well.

"I remember my first time, most girls do," Ann walked over and wrapped her arm around Ryuji's shoulder, "I was 11 believe it or not and I was in the middle of English lessons and we were going over proper punctuation coincidentally." She told her story, much to the chagrin of Ryuji.

* * *

"Here we are," Akira swung the clinic doors open as Yusuke continued to carry Ryuji into the clinic. At this point the gang was beginning to worry as Ryuji had grown slightly pale and cold as the life drained from him.

"What the?" Tae looked up from her clipboard to see several teenagers pour into her office along with Akira.

"Hey Tae," he put his hands on the help desk counter, "Our friend here, Ryuji," he pointed to him as Yusuke began to pat his hair like a dog, Ryuji immediately swatting his hand away in protest, "He sorta got… shot…" Akira nervously smiled, "It's just a graze! I really really need you to fix him up for us. Just a onetime favor for me. Please!" Tae stared at Akira in shock and horror as Ryuji let out a fine moan.

Tae sighed and put her pen down on the desk and stood up, "Meet me in the examination room and I'll fix him up." She walked around as Yusuke and the others headed to the door. Inside Yusuke laid Ryuji down on the bed as Tae walked into the room and unlocked a nearby medical cabinet, "Where has he been shot?"

"In the groin," Akira told her.

"The groin?" she walked over with a small bottle of clear liquid and a needle. She put the needle in the bottle, measuring out a trace amount of liquid before emptying the shot of any air bubbles.

"What's that?" Makoto asked as Tae walked over to Ryuji and took his arm.

"Morphine," she stuck the needle in his arm, "It'll relieve the pain as I patch him up," she pressed down, "Now then, I'm gonna have to ask you all to leave the examination room while I fix him and Mr…"

"Sakamoto," Ryuji weakly replied as he began to feel lightheaded.

"Mr. Sakamoto I'm gonna need you to remove your pants and underwear for me," she told him, causing Ryuji to begin to giggle like a mad scientist as Ann rolled her eyes. The gang walked back out into the lobby as Ryuji slowly began to lose himself in the drug.

"You sure we can trust her with her discretion?" Makoto asked.

"Absolutely," Akira confirmed, "I've done a lot for her, well technically we have," he explained, "After all, who do you think the person supplying us with medicine is?"

"Oh so this is where you get those," Ann looked at a nearby magazine that happened to have her modeling rival on the cover, "… Hey can I talk to Morgana outside for a second?" Ann looked at Akira's bag.

"Sure, that's probably for the best," Akira opened his school bag and pulled Morgana out and into Ann's hands, who promptly placed him in her purse and stepped outside the clinic and sat down on the steps near the entrance.

"Morgana," Ann looked in her purse, "Let's talk."

"What about?" he popped his head out of the handbag.

"About all this!" Ann spoke to him as Morgana slowly climbed his way out of her purse.

"I love you," he cooed to her.

"No you don't," she told him, "What you're feeling is… infatuation, not love. You are so obsessed with me that you tried to kill the man I'm dating!"

"I love you!" he meowed loudly, "That's all I can say Lady Ann! That's all I can feel. Whenever I think about you I just… am overcome with love!"

"You're obsessed!" Ann stood up, "Besides. I don't feel that way about you."

"You don't like me?" he asked.

"As a friend, even after everything you've done believe it or not," she sat back down, "The fact Ryuji forgave you is amazing and so unlike him, but maybe he's really changing or some shit," she sighed, "I just don't know how I'm gonna be able to put this whole event behind me."

"Do you love Ryuji?" he asked her.

"What?" she blushed, "That's personal Morgana."

"Tell me Lady Ann!" Morgana pleaded.

"It's… complicated…" she thought to herself.

"That's just what he said," Morgana mumbled quietly, "I'm sorry Lady Ann," Morgana began to cry again, "I just want you to love me back! When I get my human form, I swear I…" Morgana curled up next to her, "My human form…"

"Do you even have a human form?" she asked.

"…I don't know anymore… I thought I did… because of you," he looked at her, "I found myself so drawn to you that I knew I had to be human. What sort of cruel creator would make me a cat?"

"I don't know," she spoke, "Regardless I am dating Ryuji and I don't feel that way about you and I know that may suck, but it's the truth and you're going to have to accept it and move on." She picked up Morgana, "Now let's go back in there and make sure you didn't kill Ryuji." She walked back into the clinic as the others sat around.

"How'd it go?" Akira picked Morgana out of Ann's hands.

"About as well as I think it could," she watched Akira put Morgana back in his school bag. The group sat around for a few more minutes before Ryuji and Tae finally emerged from the back room.

"How are you feeling?" Akira asked.

"I feel like a million yen!" Ryuji slurred out as he could barely stand, "Whatever she gave meeee… this shit is the cat's tits man!" he collapsed in one of the waiting room chairs, "Speakin' of cats, where is that motherfucker Morgana… Morgan AH… More Ghana?"

"Here," Morgana sighed.

"Morgana THANK YOU for shooting me you dumb cat!" he pointed at Morgana, "All the pain was worth this pleasure!" he began to giggled so hard he clenched his gut.

"What's wrong with him?" Haru put her hands over her mouth as Ryuji began to dribble spit out of his mouth and onto his shirt.

"He's high as a kite," Ann laughed as Ryuji almost tripped over himself getting up from the chair.

"The morphine will wear off eventually, but for now I'm prescribing some lesser pain medication and recommending he rest for the next few weeks," she handed Akria a small white bag with pills inside.

"I want more of this shit baby!" Ryuji fell to his knees in laughter, "This shit is AMAZING!" he shouted, "Guys we could sell this shit and make a goddamn fortune. We could be Phantom Drug Dealers as well as Thieves! Dude I love being The Phantom Thieves of Hearts with you guys!"

"Shut the hell up Ryuji!" Akira kicked him, Ryuji not feeling an ounce of pain as he continued to blab on.

"…" Tae pretended not to hear Ryuji as she walked back into the examination room.

"Get up Ryuji," Akira told him as Ryuji reached up and placed his hand on Ann's chest for stabilization, causing everyone in the room to blush as Ann didn't know what to do.

"Holy shit I feel like… like I could run 20 miles right now," he rocked back and forth and fell onto the clinic door, "Let's go!" he pushed the doors open and was caught by Akira and Yusuke immediately before hitting the stairs.

"We are The Phantom THIEVES!" he yelled.

"Ryuji's gonna get us all arrested," Makoto worried.

"Just," Ann grabbed Ryuji, "Gimme the drugs and I'll take him home. I can keep him quiet," she grabbed the bag out of Akira's hands and grabbed Ryuji's hand, "Come on Ryuji."

"Alright guys I'm gonna walk home with my GIRLFRIEND!" he gave a thumbs up to the group as Ann dragged him along and towards the train station. Ryuji bumped into almost everything that came across his path: people, benches, street lights, trashcans, and everything in between.

"Ryuji stop," Ann pushed Ryuji's head away as he tried to nuzzle her neck.

"Ann Takamaki!" Ryuji pulled his hand out of Ann's and stood up as straight as he could in his state.

"Ryuji, come on," Ann walked towards him as Ryuji fell to his knees.

"Ann Tah…kah…mah…key!" he laughed at the name.

"Ryuji," she sighed.

"Ann Takamaki," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pink plastic capsule, "See this?" he wagged it in her face.

"What, a dumb little action figure?" she stood there.

"Nooooo," he popped the capsule open to reveal a small little pink ring with flower designs on it, "This is- this is what you call a PROMISE ring." He grabbed her hand and forced the ring on her finger, "It's a sign that someday I wanna get you a real ring someday!"

"Huh!?" she blushed.

"It's a symbol of my love! OUR LOVE!" he shouted for all to hear, "Now gimme your promise ring you have for me!"

"I don't have a fake engagement ring for you!" she took the ring off, "Especially one that is clearly from one of those kiddie machines."

"I don't have the money for a nice one Ann!" he sadly proclaimed, "Come on show me your love for me!" he grabbed her other hand and began to kiss is.

"…" she blushed and looked around at the several people staring at them, "Fine!" she picked him up, "I know what to do…" she dragged him by the ear to the train station.

* * *

"Hey Akira," Ann walked into Café LeBlanc, "Why did you want me to come here?" she showed him her phone, Akira texted her earlier that day to come to LeBlanc after school. Akira was sitting on a nearby bar stool reading a small magazine on electronics.

"Sit down," Akira pointed to the booth, "We just gotta wait for Ryuji."

"Ryuji's coming?" Ann asked, "Are we going to mementos today?"

"No," Akira put the magazine down, "How is Ryuji by the way, did he get home safe?"

"Yeah, I left the pills in his bathroom and Ryuji passed out on the couch," Ann told him, "He texted me this morning thanking him for being so kind," she looked at the kitchenette area, "Where's Sojiro?"

"He left me in charge of the shop," Akira looked at the kitchen area, "I got some curry if you're hungry."

"Nah, I'm good," she put her hand under her chin and leaned on the table, "Ryuji will want some when he comes."

"I'm glad he has someone like you in his life," Akira smiled as the door to LeBlanc slowly opened. Ryuji slowly hobbled into the café one step at a time, almost rocking from leg to leg without moving them.

"How are you feeling?" Akira asked.

"Like effin shit," he moaned, "Turns out getting shot isn't as easy as they make it out to be, in the movies," he managed to get to the booth.

"Sit down," Akira stood up out of the stool, "Morgana! Come on!" Akira watched as Ryuji pulled out a small baby blue piece of plastic from his back pocket and began to blow on it.

"The hell's that?" Ann asked.

"It's my inflatable seat," he continued to blow into the device to inflate it, "My mom got it for me after I told her I 'fractured my tailbone'" he blew the seat up fully and tossed it onto the seat next to Ann as he slowly lowered himself into the seat and onto it, a relieved sigh coming over as he sat down. Morgana slowly came down the stairs as Akira walked over and picked him up, placing him on the opposite side of the booth and sitting down next to him.

"Now then," Joker stated, "I called you all here because I think we need to forgive and forget this whole ordeal."

"We already talked about this," Morgana tried to hop out of the seat as Akira held onto the skin of his neck.

"No," he pulled Morgana up to face Ann and Ryuji, "Apologize."

"I already did!" Morgana whined.

"Apologize so I can hear it," Akira said, "I'll go first. Morgana, I am sorry that I held back information that Ann and Ryuji we're seeing each other from you."

"…" Morgana looked down, "Fine. Lady Ann I am sorry for trying to kill your boyfriend."

"And…" Ann stared at him angrily.

"And I'm sorry for treating you like a piece of meat that belongs to me," a single tear rolled down onto his whisker.

"Now apologize for shooting me!" Ryuji slammed his hands down on the table.

"Fine I apologize," Morgana hissed.

"Now Ryuji apologize-" Akira turned to Ryuji.

"Apologize for WHAT?" he screamed, "I didn't do jack shit wrong!"

"We all hid it from Morgana," Akira explained.

"Fine, I apologize for lying to you about dating Ann," he sighed.

"I apologize too," Ann joined in.

"I know this isn't easy, but we are The Phantom Thieves," Akira got up, "And we all need to work together as a team despite all this anger. Can we all agree to just put this whole incident behind us so we can work as a team."

"Yes," Ann nodded.

"I can too," Ryuji smiled.

"Very well," Morgana conceded.

"Shake on it," Akira told them.

"How am I supposed to shake hands with a cat?" Ryuji asked.

"Just shake," Akira bemoaned as Ryuji and Morgana both looked at each other with a slight hint of aggravation on their faces as Ryuji grabbed Morgana's paw and slightly moved it up and down.

"I can feel the wounds already begin to heal," Akira smiled, "Now who wants Curry?"

"Not me man," Ryuji began to itch at his wrist, "I'm not hungry." Akira's eyes were drawn to his wrist as Ryuji began to mess around with a small gold bracelet strapped to him.

"What's that?" Akira asked.

"I don't know," Ryuji continued to pull at the metal ring, "I woke up and it was around my wrist and I can't get it off!" he pulled at it some more, "Is this some sort of futuristic medical band?"

"It's a love bracelet," Ann told him.

"What's a love bracelet?" Ryuji asked.

"You get them as a sign of being in a serious relationship," she grabbed his wrist, "See the screws holfing it together. They guy screws them on really tight so you can't remove it."

"Why do I have one?" he asked.

"Well…" she smiled, "Last night I made you get one while you were incapacitated."

"When I was high you brought me to a guy whole screwed a piece of metal on my wrist!" Ryuji continued to pull at the bracelet.

"That's pretty funny Lady Ann," Morgana joked.

"It's not funny!" Ryuji gave the band a huge tug.

"Stop Ryuji!" Ann grabbed his arm, "That thing cost 50000 yen!"

"You spent 50000 yen on a bracelet?" Ryuji gasped, "Why?"

"Because you wanted to 'Proclaim our love to everyone'," she air quoted him before reaching into her pocket, "Then you gave me a 300 yen plastic ring as a 'promise ring'"

"Shit I did that," he blushed, "I was gonna buy you a real one eventually!"

"…" Morgana frowned as the two argued as Akira walked over and began to pet his head, eventually picking him up and heading to the back of the kitchen area to stir the curry, "This is the worst feeling ever."

"Can't you just be happy she's happy?" Akira asked.

"Futaba told me I'm what the internet community refers to as a cuck," he looked into the curry pot, trying to ignore Ryuji and Ann.

"A what?" Akira asked.

"I don't know, but she told me that it's what you call someone who loses the one they love to a better male," Morgana sat down.

"You'll get over her," Akira toughed it out, "It sucks for now, but eventually you'll move on. I promise." He lifted a ladle out of the pot and held it in front of Morgana, "Taste."

"I hate curry," he hopped down, "I'm going to bed and you should too!"

"It's only 4!" he put the ladle back into the pot as Morgana stormed off, knowing there was never anything that Ryuji could do to deserve Ann's love, but willing to bite his tongue for the sake of the mission and only the mission. Once he got his human form back, then shit would hit the fan.


	6. Chapter 6

"EVACUATE THE SHIP!" one of the crew cried as civilians began to flee in panic, "GO GO GO!" as people flew out of their cabins and onto the deck, rushing towards the front end of the ship. The entire ship was beginning to sink down to the bottom of the blood red ocean as fire exploded from the air vents. One after another people either fell to their deaths or jumped into the water, sucked away by the intense current. As the swarm of people continued to run throughout the ship, our heroes made their way out of the front doors, trying to figure out an escape route.

"We're gonna die!" Futaba screamed in horror as they looked out onto the wreck of a ship, "I don't know how to swim!" as the group tried to find some way down. They could try to swim to one of the wrecked buildings or a shore, if it existed, but they knew the river would suck them away.

"Over there!" Makoto pointed, "A life boat," the gang looked to see a single life boat still hanging from its launch crane high in the air.

"We just gotta get there…" Akira looked at the distant deploy switch, there was no way they could reach it, it was already up the steep forward half of the ship. Maybe Haru could knock it down with a well placed grenade or they could somehow shoot the wire, but it was so far and they didn't want to damage the lifeboat or cause some sort of explosion, gas was beginning to fill the water as the rainbow tint gleamed in the corners of their eyes.

"It's too far! We won't reach it in time!" Yusuke declared as he looked for another route.

Ryuji sighed, taking a deep breath as he looked around at all his friends who were trying not to panic in the face of their deaths. Suddenly, calm over came Ryuji as he turned back towards the lifeboat, "I got this."

"Huh?" Ann looked at Ryuji.

"Hang tight. I'll nab the boat!" he tore his mask off and hopped down onto the hull of the boat.

"Ryuji!" Ann screamed as she reached for him.

"It's now or never… Here Goes!" he closed his eyes and imagined the last track meet he ever took place in. He remembered that day fondly, it was so cool outside and there were about six other schools at their meet up. His mom had come to support him, somehow managing to get time off to see him. She worked so hard for him and all he did was act out at her and lash out at everyone, but she loved him. He was running 200 meters that day and the competition was fierce. He remembered as his teammates wished him luck as he took his place at the starting line, waiting for the whistle to blow. Those few moments before the race began were pure euphoria for Ryuji, he felt like he could do almost anything in that calm, then the action began, "Aaaaaaah!" he yelled as he took off sprinting towards the boat.

"Come on Ryuji," Akira whispered to himself as he watched his friend sprint as fast as he humanly could.

" _This is It man… hero time,"_ Ryuji smiled as the heat from the nearby flames engulfed him, " _Do something right for once in your effin life. Be a hero_." He lept over the gap of water as a huge explosion nearly knocked him off mid air. As he landed he began his climb upwards to the switch, "Hraaaaagh!" he grunted.

"Ryuji!" Yusuke cheered him on.

"GO!" Ann screamed as she watched him climb the ship.

" _I'm doing it, I'm almost there. I can do it! Do it for them! Do it for your friends,"_ he cheered himself on as he finally managed to reach the switch, launching himself onto it and pulled down with all his might as it finally gave way. The group cheered as they watched the mechanical arm spin around towards them and drop the boat. As Ryuji hung there, the ship began to tilt more and more upwards as clung to dear life, knowing the currents would instantly sweep him away as he looked down. As the crew boarded he looked back to see Ann helping the others on as she made eye contact with him.

" _Don't be stupid Ryuji_ ," she looked up at him as he responded with a big thumbs up, almost knowing what she was thinking and vice versa.

"Hang on!" Akira yelled to Ryuji.

"We're moving," Yusuke began to rev the motor and the boat cruised towards Ryuji. Akira formulated how to get Ryuji down, realizing they would likely need one of them to break his fall to ensure he didn't break his spine or leg on the lifeboat. As they pulled up next to him, an enormous rupture of gas filled the area around all of them, the heat nearly scorching everyone's hair as they completely lost sight of the ship and Ryuji in the orange flames. As the flames died down, they looked back at Ryuji, but could not find him. Instead there was just an empty rope were he once was swinging in the air.

" _No…_ " Akira began to frantically scan the horizon for some sign of Ryuji.

"No way…" Ann put her hands on the side of the boat, "It can't be… come on!" she clenched her jaw shut as she stared at the remains of the ship which not only was sinking, but the steel was now melting under the extreme heat of the boat fuel, "Come on, what the hell, Ryuji," her voice cracked, "RYUJI!" she yelled for him as they all watched the boat light up again in dark orange flames. They realized that they had to go or they would all die, knowing deep down that Ryuji was gone.

* * *

"Ugh…" Ryuji groaned as he felt light pour into his eyes. He remembered the intense heat encasing his whole body and throwing him away from the ship at mach speed and then… nothing. He opened his eyes some more, not knowing what to expect. Did he die? Was this heaven? He finally realized what that bright light was. It wasn't some divine prophet or angel come to save him and it wasn't heaven, but just a simple streetlamp that stood over him. As he sat up he realized he had been expelled to reality onto a nearby patch of grass by The Diet Building, likely an area where people came to eat lunch.

"Hey!" a nearby security guard yelled, "Off the grass punk!"

"Sorry," he grunted as he picked himself up. He wiggled his toes and fingers to make sure everything was intact and in working order. Luckily he felt no pain at all from the trauma he had gone through, quickly skirting off the grass to go find his friends back at the original entrance spot.

"We're back," Ann gasped several times as she reoriented herself to the real world, "Ryuji!?" she looked around, the rest looking as well.

"He didn't… make it out…" Haru gasped.

"We gotta go back," Futaba pulled her phone out.

"That's impossible…" Morgana looked at Ann who now had her hand over her mouth, trying to contain herself. He realized that Ryuji had done the greatest thing he could have done for Ann, for all of them. He died for them. Despite shooting him, Ryuji saved him and Morgana felt an intense wave of guilt overcome his small body, " _Ryuji…_ "

"Ha…" Yusuke let out a small laugh as the others looked at him as Ryuji continued to snicker, "haha…" he stopped as he realized he was laughing out of pure pain, "This isn't funny at all…" he felt his eyes begin to water.

"I…" Ann's voice continued to crack, "He was our fastest runner too!" she spoke the first thing that came to mind, trying not to break down completely.

"So this is the Treasure," Yusuke looked down at the ground as he reached for the small piece of metal.

"It's a legislature's pin," Makoto looked at it as Ann couldn't hold the tears back anymore. She placed both her hands over her face and began to wail loudly into them, Futaba immediately following in suit as the other's slowly began to break down as well. They had lost their friend and there was literally nothing they could do about it. For all their power as Phantom Thieves, bringing the dead back to life was not one of the.

"Maaaan, that was close," a voice cheerily shouted as Ann uncovered her face to see Ryuji walking towards them, "For real though, why do Palaces gotta explode so much? Can't they disappear normally?" he joked as everyone stared at him in complete disbelief, "What?"

"Didn't you… die…" Haru asked Ryuji.

"What!? I blasted out from the explosion… When I woke up, I was lying on the grass…" he pointed back to where he landed, "I mean, ain't I alive?" he looked around at all their sad teary faces. He looked at Ann who now had mascara running down her cheeks along with a trace amount of mucus coming out of her noise as her lip quivered, "What's this? Your cryin' face is SO not cute Ann!" he smiled at her. She walked over to him and delivered the hardest punch she could into the left side of his face, knocking him out almost instantly.

"Holy crap Ann!" Akira watched as Ryuji's limp body hit the ground like a pile of bricks.

"You fuckin moron! Don't you EVER-" she shouted at him and began to slightly hyperventilate as a few more tears flung from her face.

"Ann he's knocked out cold!" Akira ran over and leaned Ryuji's body up against the light pole.

"Damn Ann," Futaba giggled, "That was INTENSE! You could be one of those female boxers or MMA fighters. Do you know martial arts?"

"Idiot," she stormed away before anyone else could get a word in edgewise.

"Ryuji Ryuji?" Akira lightly slapped his face, "Wake up man."

"I'm quite hungry, how does sushi sound?" Yusuke asked.

"Sushi sounds amazing right now," Makoto smiled.

"Guys Ryuji's out cold! How can you think about sushi at a time like this?" he continued to treat Ryuji as suddenly Ryuji lurched forward and coughed a few times.

"See, he's fine," Futaba pulled Akira away, "Sushi!"

"…" Akira stared at his friend who still had not opened his eyes, "You really want to abandon him after Ann just punched him in the face?" Akira watched as the rest of the group began to walk away.

"It's not like he died," Morgana told him, "Come on SUSHI!" the girls and Morgana began to chant praises of sushi at him.

"Fine," Akira sighed as he joined his friends, leaving Ryuji behind, "This seems so wrong."

"He seems fine," Makoto reassured him as she latched onto his arm, "I'll pay for your meal."

"…" Akira stilled seemed hesitant.

"I want… sushi…" Ryuji weakly cried out to his friends, who already were too far away for them to hear his cry, "Gimme the… tuna…" he fell back onto his side.

* * *

"I'm home," Ryuji walked into his house, "Mom?" he walked into the small kitchen area to see his mother sitting alone at their makeshift dining table. Since it was just Ryuji and his mom, their table was just a small square plastic folding table meant for a backyard or at the beach. They had purchased it for discount in Chinatown since it had a scratch mark across the top.

"Hey honey," she looked up from the book she was reading, "Another fight?" her eyes looked at the small purple bruise he had on his face.

"No, this was just… a thing," he walked over to the cupboard and pulled out a small cup of instant noodles, "Hey mom?"

"What?" she asked.

"I love you," he walked over to her and hugged her like it was the first time he had ever hugged her, "I'm sorry I'm not a good son."

"Huh?" she pulled back to see her son had several tears forming in his eyes.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking and I…" a couple tears hit the table, "I'm not that good of a son and I know there's a lot more I could do to help you out around here and…" she hugged him again.

"Baby don't cry," she rubbed his back with her hand, "You're a good son."

"No I'm not," he buried his face in her shoulder, "I'm a bad egg."

"You're the best son I could've asked for," she began to cry, "I'm so proud of you and the man you're becoming."

"I don't wanna be dad," he confessed.

"You're nothing like your father… I promise," she continued to hold him. Ryuji pulled away, wiping his tears on his sleeve and putting the cup of noodles on the counter.

"I'm gonna go… pull myself together," he turned away and walked upstairs to use the restroom. Ryuji's mother sat back down, smiling over the little moment she and her son has just had in quite some time. After a couple minutes of reading she heard a knock at the door.

"Coming," she got up and opened the door, revealing a small blonde woman standing at the entrance.

"Hello," Ann greeted her.

"Hello, but sorry, but we don't want whatever you are selling," she went to close the door.

"You don't remember me?" Ann asked, "I'm, uh, Ann."

"Oh!" she smiled, "That's right! You're Ann… the girlfriend."

"Yes," she blushed, "Is Ryuji here? I wanted to talk to him."

"He's upstairs, I'll go get him" she moved aside, "Please come in and sit down."

"Actually, tell him to meet me out front," she stepped back, "There's something I gotta tell him."

"Are you two breaking up?" she asked.

"No." Ann shook her head, "Just… it's personal." Ann turned away as Ryuji's mother did the same.

"Ryuji! Ann is here to see you!" she shouted up the stairs, "She's outside."

"Okay," Ryuji quickly bolted down the stairs and out the door to see Ann standing along on the sidewalk with her arms crossed as she watched a couple of fireflies dashed around on the sidewalk, "Ann," he approached her. As she turned to him, all she could feel once again was rage and she delivered yet another slap to him.

"What the hell Ann!?" he cried out as she continued to slap him over and over again, "AHH!" Ryuji cried out as he held his face, "Stop hitting me!"

"Don't you ever do that again!" she cried, "I thought you fucking died!"

"Stop!" Ryuji grabbed her hand in mid swing, "God damn, stop it! Why are you hitting me? I saved you."

"You could've told me you were gonna do that!" Ann continued to yell at him.

"It was in the heat of the moment! Besides, I LIVED!" he argued back, "By the way, thanks for the punch back there Ann!" he yelled, "What the hell is up with you? Why are you hitting me for saving your life?"

"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" she yelled as loud as she could.

"Huh?" Ryuji looked as her tears rolled down her face.

"I love you and I thought you left me!" she hugged him as hard as she could and began crying into his chest, "I don't want you to leave me again."

"Hey, uh, don't… uh, don't cry!" Ryuji held her head and began to rock back and forth with her, "Come on Ann you're gonna make me cry too," she looked up at him as she smiled through the pain, "Listen, I… I love you too," he started to cry with her as she buried her face back in his chest. The two kids stood together in their arms for what felt like an eternity, just basking in the glow of their love.

"Did you eat?" Ann asked as she managed to compose herself, "We all went out to eat and just left you."

"Not yet, I was just gonna have some instant noodles or something," he pointed back to the house.

"Come over to my place. I'll cook you dinner," she held his hand, "It's the least I can do for you after… everything…"

"Okay," he smiled, "Let me just tell my mom." He ran back into the house. Ann stood there, blanketed in ecstasy as she realized that she was truly in love with Ryuji. Neither of them had said those three little words to each other yet, only dancing around with gestures and gifts to one another. Ryuji ran back out of the house with a coat on, "Let's go… to your place," he blushed.

"Okay," she grabbed his hand.

"Wait!" Ryuji tugged his hand away and reached into his pocket, "I wanted to give you this." He pulled out a small little silver ring.

"What's that?" she giggled.

"A real promise ring," he put it on her, "Figured I'd get you a real one since you got me the bracelet," he raised his wrist. Ann had totally forgotten she bought him that; it had just become a part of Ryuji's everyday outfit to her and to everyone else.

"Wow… this is…" she continued to admire the ring, "I've never had a boy buy me jewelry before."

"Cost a hefty sum, but you're worth it," he smiled, "I love you."

"I love you too," she hugged him.

"What's for dinner?" he asked breaking the mood.

"Huh?" she asked.

"You said you'd cook for me, what do you have planned?" he asked.

"Well, uh," she thought, "You were gonna have noodles so how about spaghetti. You know real noodles!"

"Sounds great," he took her hand again as they walked away from Ryuji's house, Ryuji's mom watching the two young lovers enjoy the night.

* * *

"Well this is my house," she opened the door, "What do you think." The inside of Ann's place was amazing. You could tell her parents were designers as everything about the house seemed like it'd be from a style magazine from the leather furniture to the black wooden cabinets to even the big screen TV that stood in the middle of their living room.

"Holy shit Ann!" he walked in, "Why the hell are we hiding out at the café? This place is the SHIT!" he walked around, "Christ look at that marble granite top!" he admired the kitchen counters.

"Thanks," she walked over to the kitchen, "I don't like showing off my house to others. They get… jealous."

"My house is a fucking shithole compared to this place," he declared, "So where's the spaghetti?" he asked.

"I have to make it still," she told him.

"I thought maybe your parents were making it," he told her, "Figured they'd be here."

"My parents are out of the country," she walked over the cupboard and pulled out a box of dry boxed pasta, "They are in France for some conference."

"That's pretty far!" Ryuji exclaimed.

"Yeah, they'll be gone for the next two weeks or so," she grabbed a pot and began to fill it up with water.

"So no real noodles?" he asked.

"These real noodles," she said.

"I thought you were gonna make fresh noodles," Ryuji watched her place the full pot on the stove.

"I don't know how to make noodles," she turned the heat on.

"I mean you just get a bunch of dough and cut it real thin," he scratched his head, "Right?"

"I think that there's a machine for making noodles," she scoffed at him, "You can't cut dough that thin and that straight by hand."

"I saw a guy do it one time in Chinatown," he watched her rummage through the fridge, more specifically he stared at her ass as she looked towards the bottom of the fridge.

"Shoot I thought we had some Kobe beef!" she pushed some condiments to the side.

" _I see a nice slice of beef I'd like to eat right there_ ," he stared until she finally popped back up.

"Guess I'll just have to make meatballs outta the shitty American beef," she pulled out a small red tube of meat and threw it on the counter as she pulled her phone out, "Now do I cook these in the oven or in a pan."

"Have you cooked pasta before?" he asked.

"No, but it can't be that hard…" she read the recipe online, "Oven it is!" she turned to the oven and began to follow the instructions, "Go sit down! Watch some TV!" she pushed him away, "Let me cook for you!" Ryuji sat down on the fine leather couch as she flicked on the television. It was crystal clear quality with surround sound where the bass could shake the room if it was loud enough. She had channel after channel of shows from around the world: American channels, European channels, Japanese Channels. It was all there as Ann ran throughout the kitchen trying to locate spices and the rest of the accoutrements for the meal.

After an hour or so, Ryuji had been engulfed in one of those whacky Japanese Batsu game shows involving Wasabi or something of the same consistency as Ann finally brought over a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs to Ryuji, placing it in his lap along with a pair of chopsticks. Ryuji licked his lips and dug into the noodles, hooking on one of the meatballs and taking a huge bite. As he bite down, a loud crunch sounded audible through his mouth as he stopped chewing. Everything about the meal was pretty subpar, the noodles were undercooked and the meatballs were cold and possibly undone. Ryuji spat out the food back into the bowl as Ann watched in horror.

"Wow that's bad," he put the bowl down.

"…I tried to make it with love," she sighed.

"You didn't follow the recipe?" he asked.

"I covered the basics, but I figured I had it," Ann looked at the bowl, "I'm not this bad of a cook, I promise! I just got… nervous because of you!"

"You got any instant noodles?" he asked. She sighed and got up to go look for some.

"Chicken or Shrimp?" she asked.

"Shrimp," he told her as she began to whip the noodles up, bringing the steaming cup over to him after several minutes of preparation. Ryuji tore into them like a wild beast as he happily chowed down on the edible food.

"So how are the noodles?" she asked.

"They're good!" he pulled out a large nod of noodles and shoved them in his mouth, "You make a mean instant noodle!" he spoke with a full mouth.

"It's not hard to make instant noodles Ryuji, just water and heat," she continued to watch TV with Ryuji, "I need a bath."

"Is there a bathhouse near here?" he asked, "I didn't see one."

"My parents bought a tub for the upstairs bathroom," she explained, "It's real big and expensive and it's got jets in it! It's like a hot tub."

"Lucky you," he took another bite of noodles, "Plus you don't gotta bathe with a bunch of other people like I do! It's always a bunch of old men whenever I go to a bathhouse, I bet in those female bathhouses it's all smoking hot chicks and shit."

"Well there's one guy I wouldn't mind taking a bath with," she cooed.

"Yeah I- WAIT, You serious?" he looked at her as she turned red from her own flirty statement.

"Well… you know… I guess if you wanted to you could… take a… long bath… with me," she managed to cough out.

"Like right now!" he became giddy, "Please?"

"…I guess," she nervously laughed.

"Does this mean we can also fuck?" his voice cracked as he asked.

"No!" she blushed on in embarrassment, "Just… you know a bath together as a couple can be romantic activity! Lots of people bathe together."

"Then afterwards they screw!" he tried to coax her into sex, "Or they eff in the effin tub! Plus if you have sex in water you don't gotta use a condom!"

"Ryuji if we're gonna have sex you have to use a condom!" she told him.

"What if I… you know… stop near the end and just pull out and I can," he reasoned, "That's effective!"

"No it's not you idiot!" she yelled at him.

"Fine I'll wear the condom!" he told her.

"We're not having sex!" she reiterated, "We can bathe together and you can… spend the night here and we can sleep in the same bed, but that's it!" Ann stood up, "I'm only doing this because you saved my ass earlier today."

"You know you don't have to this because I saved you," he put his cup of noodles on the coffee table, "Seriously. I don't wanna peer pressure you into this if you're gonna regret it."

"Yeah I know, but I just wanna… get closer to you, but not THAT close…" she smiled, "Plus I kinda wanna see what you… have down there… I'm curious."

"I'm curious what you got down there too," he responded, "Not that you would have a dick or anything!" Ann rolled her eyes.

"Well alright," she clapped her hands, "I will… go run a bath and you can finish your noodles and join me." She giggled nervously and backed away from Ryuji slowly, still staring at him as she climbed the stairs and jogged into the bathroom.

" _Holy shit what am I doing? This is crazy!"_ she thought as she managed to pull herself over to the tub and pulled the hot handle, " _You're gonna see Ryuji naked, that's all! You've seen him in a swimsuit! It's just that plus a little more! You know what a naked man looks like, you've seen tons of them on the internet and there's that picture in your health book!_ " she adjusted the temperature downwards slightly.

"Okay Ryuji the water is nice and warm!" Ann continued to run her hand under the water as the tub neared full. The door pushed open and Ryuji entered as Ann turned to face him, "Alright so-" Ann stopped. She assumed Ryuji would come in clothes, maybe his underwear, but he had come in completely nude. Ryuji had a smirk across his face as Ann stared at him in all his glory, "Woah! I…uh… I thought maybe you'd…" Ann continued to stare, "….gah..."

"You don't bathe with your clothes on!" Ryuji said as he rubbed his arm.

"No, I know…" Ann continued to stare, "Sorry! It's just… you're… you know, I never seen one in real life that was… not that I've ever seen one before that wasn't…" Ann was stuttering.

"No it's fine, you can stare at my boner," Ryuji giggled, "Look I can make it move." Ryuji made it move for Ann.

"Don't do that it's creepy!" Ann said with a huge blush, "… Just get in the tub! I regret this already." Ryuji walked over and stepped into the tub as Ann admired his backside as he slide down into the tub, letting his arms hang over the side.

"Ahhh… what?" Ryuji asked as Ann continued to look down at Ryuji through the water.

"You've got a cute… butt," she blushed.

"Checking out my ass huh? He smirked, "You've got a cute little ass too if I do say so!"

"It's weird you don't dye your hair, you know, down there," she pointed to his crotch.

"Why would I dye it?" he asked, "It's trimmed down and it's not like I got people looking at it!" Ann managed to drag her eyes away from Ryuji as she reached over to the nearby counter and tossed a small pink orb in the tub.

"Yo what was that?" he looked as the water began to fizz and rapidly change to a very light pink color.

"Bath bombs, they make the bath smell good!" she smiled.

"Do I sit on it?" he asked watching the tiny bubbles.

"No you don't sit on it!" she sighed, "You just let it fizz!"

"Are you gonna get in the tub?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

"In a minute, I just," she continued to try to make up excuses.

"Do you not want to? Because like I said I'm okay with-" he grabbed her hand. She continued to smile as she reached down and began to undo her jeans as Ryuji moved on his side to watch Ann undress. She slowly slid off all her clothes except for her underwear before finally bearing it all for Ryuji to see.

"Oh my effin GOD!" he smiled from ear to ear, "You're so FUCKING HOT!" he yelled.

"Thanks I guess," she blushed. Out of sheer reaction she wanted to cover herself up as Ryuji stared like a maniac at her nude body, but resisted as she walked over to the opposite side of the tub, Ryuji leaning over to get a look at Ann's backside as well. She stepped into the water, sitting down opposite of Ryuji as the bath bomb continued to bubble between them.

"…" Ryuji just sat there smiling and looking at Ann.

"What?" she asked.

"I like your nipples!" he told her.

"My nipples?" she looked down to see the tops of her nipples exposed out of the water, "Don't… thanks. You have… nice nipples too."

"Thanks, Yusuke was asking me about your nipples," he told her.

"Wait, Yusuke was asking about my nipples?" she was taken back, "Why?"

"He… wanted to know for… artsy stuff," he chuckled, "That and he wanted to know about what you had for hair down there," he pointed, "And I'm glad to report you are clean shaven!"

"Is that all you guys talk about?" she begrudgingly sighed, "What you think we look like naked."

"Hey you already know," Ryuji pointed out, "…What do Makoto and Futaba and Haru look like naked?" he asked.

"Why don't you tell me what Akira and Yusuke look like naked," she shot back.

"Yusuke looks like a skeleton, he's got no meat on his bones and when he sucks in his gut you can see the ribs and shit," he shuddered, "And he's all pale and shit, it's effin gross!"

"Wow really," her eyes widened, "I worry about him... he's bringing tap water into mementos and he eats plants he finds in the park and one time I found him eating some leftover onion rings from Big Bang in the trash!"

"That's our Yusuke," the two laughed, "Now then, let me wash your back!" he grabbed a loofah from the nearby holder.

"Huh?" she gasped as Ryuji swam towards her and quickly forced her around and dipped the spongy material into the water and began to lightly was Ann's back for her.

"How's that feel?" he asked as he scrubbed her shoulder blades.

"It's good," she giggled.

"You gotta zit on your back," he placed the loofah aside as he began to pinch a small area of skin near the middle.

"Ow!" she cried as she jolted back onto Ryuji's lap."

"Ann!" he blushed as Ann realized that she had managed to wedge Ryuji between her body.

"Ryuji!" she jerked forward instantly.

"Hey, uh, was that your?" he looked down, "Did we just lose our virginities?"

"No it wasn't my…" she stammered, "It just slipped between my… god this is embarrassing as hell," she put her head down as Ryuji grabbed the loofah again.

"Sorry," he moved his hand downwards to her lower back, "Ummm… do you mind if I go lower?" he asked.

"N-No," she smiled softly, "Not at all." Ryuji nodded and began to fondle Ann's rear as she let out an audible gasp as Ryuji felt the softness of her buns in the palms of his hands.

"So…" he squeezed, "You've got a nice can!"

"Ryuji!" she gasped.

"Do you mind if I go… lower?" he blurted out.

"Like my legs?" she asked through her intense blushes.

"Well you know," he began to move his right hand around to Ann's front, "Just tell me if you want me to stop…" he moved closer to her as her breaths became lighter and lighter as Ryuji extended his index finger for the kill.

"AHHH!" she cried out.

"Jackpot," he declared as he and Ann sat in silence. Ryuji wiggled his finger around, feeling the texture. It was far tighter than he expected it to feel and the surface was almost ribbed as he felt it mold around his finger as Ann held onto the tub and bite her lip, "Do you want me to continue or?"

"I'm okay," she cried out, "Maybe just stop there though… hold o-fuck," she let out a soft squeal of pleasure as Ryuji removed himself, "Wow that was…"

"It felt weird," Ryuji confessed as he looked at his hand, "I liked it though."

"Did you have to go so deep?" she slightly shivered, "Damn Ryuji," she turned around.

"Sorry," he smiled.

"No don't be sorry, that was intense," she drove her hands underwater as Ryuji let out a sharp gasp, "…My turn."

"As long as you're not slipping a finger inside me I'm fine," he began to breath as hard as he could as Ann messed around with him. Ryuji was a lot harder than she thought it would be and the heat alone could be felt through the water as Ryuji began to twitch in her hand.

"Ann please!" he cried out, "Don't do anymore or else I'm gonna…" he tried to warn her as she placed her thumb on the tip, causing Ryuji to spastically squirm away from her, covering himself as Ann watched his face go through several odd expressions before falling back onto the other end of the tub.

"Did you just!? In the water?" she stood up.

"I told you not to," Ryuji muttered out from pure exhaustion.

"Ryuji I'm gonna get pregnant now!" she soared out of the tub and grabbed a nearby towel and began to wipe away at her private parts.

"No its fine I wasn't anywhere near your vagina," he began to climb out of the tub, "Plus you can't get pregnant in the water. It kills my boys off immediately because of the climate."

"That's not at all true dumbass," she continued to wipe, "Shit I don't wanna get pregnant."

"You're not pregnant," he stood up as his legs felt like jelly, being touched like that by an actual woman for the first time took a lot out of him, "God damn am I hungry."

"Ahhh," she threw the towel down and grabbed him by the skin of his pec, "I swear if I end up pregnant I will-"

"You know," he placed her hands on her ass and pulled her in tight, their naked bodies meeting in all the right places, "It occurs to me I should be a good boyfriend and return the favor."

"…" she pulled away, "I don't know if I… OH!" Ryuji picked Ann up and threw her over his shoulder and dragged her out of the bathroom as she nervously laughed. He carried her down the stairs and tossed her on the leather soft, kneeling down next to her and beginning to suck on her breast.

"Ryuji… I told you I don't wanna have sex," she moaned through the intense pleasure.

"Who said anything about sex?" he looked at her, "I said that I was hungry."

"You still got some noodles left," she pointed to the cup near them.

"I'm hungry…" he moved his head and began to kiss at her stomach, "For something else."

"Something el- HELLO!" she cried out as Ryuji lifted her leg and dove in like a starving dog, "I'm fine with that! HA!" she squealed as Ryuji went to town on her, "Holy shit Ryuji!"

"Am I really doing a good job?" he asked.

"Yeah! Now go back to doing it!" she shoved his head back between her, "Ohhhhh… move to the left."

"Okay," he muttered with a mouthful of Ann.

"Wait no right! No left again!" she commanded him as Ryuji tried to remember what to do from that girly magazine that he and Akira were reading one time in his room. The two of them had stumbled across an order of western girly magazines all packaged together for sale at a used book place and they decided for the sake of research they should purchase and read them. A lot of them offered great advice on satisfying your woman or your man, but it often seemed that the books contradicted each other on what to do or how to do it so they decided to try everything and anything when the chance came like this. The act went on for several minutes as Ann's cries grew louder and louder as she commanded him on what to do.

"And…. AHHH!" she sat up and yelled out like a wild animal as Ryuji came up for air. The two of them sat there for some time just taking in deep breath after deep breath before Ryuji finally broke the silence.

"My jaw hurts," he began to massage it, "That wasn't as easy as I thought it'd be."

"That was… amazing!" she continued to pant, "Holy shit I'm ready for bed, but I can't move from all that pleasure!" she laid back on the couch before Ryuji climbed over her and laid down next to her, the two of them still naked and soaked.

"Are there some blankets or?" he looked around.

"I don't know," she turned to him and kissed him on the lips before closing her eyes and burying her face in his shoulders, hugging him as she fell right to sleep.

"This is nice too I guess," he held her tight and closed her eyes, the warmth of his girlfriend was all that he needed that night as he quickly passed out from their sexual activities.


	7. Chapter 7

It was Christmas Eve 20XX in Tokyo, Japan. As the year wound to a close people were reflecting on everything that had happened these past 12 months: the high points, the low points, new friends, old friends, and even new lovers. This was certainly true for the heroes of the story, The Phantom Thieves of Hearts. They had taken the country by storm righting wrongs and sticking it to those who choose evil even of the highest echelons of power. However, like everything else in life it all had to come to an end; and what an end it was. They had defeated a god himself and stolen the ultimate treasure, the hearts of the public. However, it was not without a cost. At the end of their journey they had stopped anarchy from reigning in the capital, but had lost a dear friend, the key component to their organization, a small black and white cat named Morgana. As The Phantom Thieves arrived back to reality for the final time, they took a minute to catch their breath and take it all in.

"Morgana..." Ann softly spoke as she looked around near their feet for their friend.

"Mona..." Futaba let a soft sob out as she realized her friend was dead.

"The Meta-Nav..." Haru took her cell phone out, "It's gone... Mementos must have disappeared too..."

"We can't see Mona anymore... can we?" Futaba looked to Akira for comfort.

"…" Akira looked down, trying not to cry.

"It's fine," Futaba sighed, "I already know..."

"...What're you all so gloomy for? Mona would laugh at us for it..." Ryuji tried to cheer them up, "That stupid effin cat… hahaha." Ryuji also tried not to cry.

"That reminds me," Yusuke spoke up, "What about the public? Were we able to change their hearts?"

"I'm gonna be late for my date..." a dressed up woman ran though the crowd of people.

"All alone on Christmas, huh..." a poor looking young man took a swig from a flask.

"It's kinda hard to tell," Ann leaned in to get a better view of the people around them.

"Aren't we going into the new year without a prime minister? Will this country be all right?" a middle aged man in a suit was talking with a younger man.

"But, there's no way we're getting Shido. There are tons of shady rumors about him, you know?" the young man spoke.

"I wonder how things will go... I hope they go well..." Haru looked around at all the busy people.

"Let's believe in the adults. Sis promised us, after all," Makoto reassured them.

"From here on out's the prosecutors' job, huh?" Ryuji took a gulp.

"If we can't enter the Metaverse, that means we've been relieved of being Phantom Thieves!"  
Yusuke realized.

"It feels a bit sad..." Haru told the group as they realized their adventure was finally over. They were no longer special, just a bunch of no good teenagers.

"Brr, it's chilly" Ann shivered.

"Here," Ryuji took his coat off to hand to Ann.

"I'm already wearing a coat dumbass," she scolded him, "Plus that coat smells."

"It doesn't smell!" he sniffed it, "It's just old! My dad won it 10 years ago from one of those cigarette contests where you collect the tear outs from the packs and send them in for stuff! He gave it to me!"

"I thought you hated your dad?" Akira asked.

"I do, but it's a nice coat!" he showed it, "777 really put money into this promotion! Maybe I should start smoking…"

"Smoking causes Lung Cancer!" Makoto lectured him, "You will not be a member of this group if you are a smoker Ryuji!" Ryuji growled as he put his coat back on.

"It's snowing!" Futaba realized as they looked up at the snowflakes tumbling down onto the ground.

"No wonder it's cold," Ryuji watched Futaba giggle and catch a snowflake on her tongue, Haru trying it as well as Yusuke watched the two wobble around with their tongues extended.

"Is this what they call a white Christmas?" Ann asked.

"It's still Christmas Eve." Makoto corrected her.

"Christmas... I completely forgot about it..." Haru gasped, "I love Christmas! I gotta get you all presents!"

"Anyhow, we'll have to see what happens for now. We should probably break for today," Makoto explained, "Let's meet at Leblanc tomorrow, and have a final meeting on the situation."

"Yeah, let's do that," Yusuke agreed as no one in the group wanted to say goodbye. They stood around together for a few minutes of silence simply enjoying the company of one another.

"Hey! It'll be Christmas, so why don't we do a last celebration party!?" Ann spoke up.

" I like the sound of that! There better not be anyone that's got plans already!" Ryuji looked at Ann.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothin…" he smirked.

"It's settled then!" as everyone else agreed to the idea.

"Let's make sure you persuade Boss to let us reserve the store for the party," Yusuke explained.

"Sure thing," Akira nodded, "I'll bring the cake."

"Cake is for birthdays!" Futaba shouted.

"Cake is for any party," Akira smiled, "Maybe I'll get a carrot cake… or banana…"

"Gross!" Futaba faked gag much to the amusement of others, "Get chocolate!"

"We're counting on you. Well then, see you all again tomorrow," Yusuke walked away.

"I'm worried about Sojiro, so I'm gonna head home," Futaba quickly skipped away.

"We should go home too," Ann motioned towards Ryuji as the group went their separate ways. As Akira walked away he was amazed at how light he felt with Morgana yet again. However, now Morgana was gone for good. That little cat had run every aspect of his life since they met. From eating to sleeping to who he could hang out with, Morgana was a real guardian to him. If it weren't for that little fuzzball, Akira likely would've gotten into trouble with Ryuji or something. He stopped for a moment at the entrance to the subway, a few tears falling onto the ground as he placed his hand against the cement wall of the entrance and began to cry for Morgana.

"Goodbye… Morgana…" he sobbed softly to himself.

* * *

"Mom?" Ryuji burst through the door, "MOM!" he yelled for her and ran into the kitchen, "MOM!" he stopped as he saw his mom slaving away over the stove. Several pots were steaming over the hot electric heat as Ryuji's mother looked over at her son.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" she asked as Ryuji walked towards her and hugged her as hard as she could and began to openly sob into her should, "Sweetie!"

"Oh thank god I thought you might…" Ryuji cried, "…"

"What's wrong?" she pushed Ryuji back as he reached over for a paper towel to wipe his face.

"I thought you might've died because," he tried to explain through the wails.

"Died?" she looked at him, "Whatever gave you that idea? I'm perfectly fine. I'm cooking us dinner!"

"You mean you," a waved of calm came over him as he realized she had no knowledge of all the horrible events that had transpired over the course of the day. He hugged her again, glad that everything was okay.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned for her son's well being.

"Sorry," he wiped his face again, "There was just… a friend of mine died and I thought…" he hiccuped.

"I'm so sorry," she hugged him for a third time, "How did they die? Do you wanna talk about it."

"They… sorta…" he tried to explain, "They just went…" he thought back to that moment, "I shouldn't be this goddamn emotional about it! I effin hated him at times and he could be a real asshole and…" he continued on.

"Language!" his mother scolded him and went back to stirring the pot, "Losing someone you love is always hard Ryuji, but they would want you to go on. I'm sure of it."

"I don't know if I loved him!" he gasped.

"He was a friend," she said.

"That he was… my friend," Ryuji smiled, "God damn it this is the second effin time I've done this. Cryin' like a little bitch in front of you! It's embarrassing. I'm such a effin wuss!"

"Enough with the swearing Ryuji Sakamoto!" she scolded him again, "Don't worry about it. You just need a outlet for all these pent up feelings. Maybe you should talk to your girlfriend about it? Did she know him?"

"Yeah she knew him too," he sighed, "I don't wanna be cryin' in front of Ann. I've done it before and I feel worse than I do now… it's emasculating." Ryuji's mother chuckled as he sat down at the small table across from the stove, "What's for dinner?" he asked.

"The usual Christmas dinner I cook every year for us," she stirred the pot, "They'll be more than enough leftovers for weeks to come for lunch."

"Sweet," Ryuji smiled as he pulled his phone out. He looked at the empty spot where the Meta-Nav use to be, wondering if everything would turn out right. As he sat and thought about the future, the aroma of meat lingering in the air, the doorbell rang.

"You wanna get that for me?" Ryuji's mother opened the stove door.

"Coming!" Ryuji walked over to the door. He opened it to reveal Ann Takamaki, standing with a small cake in her hands, "Ann?"

"Hey Ryuji," Ann smiled.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"It's Christmas Eve and my parents are gone," she extended the cake, "I was wondering if I could… spend Christmas Eve with you? Ya know?" she blushed.

"Uh, sure, yeah, that'd be… great," he smiled and turned, "Mom! Can Ann stay for dinner?"

"I'll have to get another chair from upstairs, but sure," she cheerfully welcomed Ann in.

"Thank you for your hospitality Mrs. Sakamoto," she walked in and kicked her shoes off, Ryuji taking her coat and hanging it up as Ann walked into the kitchen, "I brought a small cake for desert if that's okay with you."

"I just bought some Christmas themed cookies from a nearby bakery," she told Ann, "But cake is great. I guess that means more cookies for Santa!" she continued to mess around on the stove.

"You still leave cookies out for Santa?" Ann looked at Ryuji who blushed from the comment, "You know Santa isn't real, right?"

"No!" he shouted, "I know he's not real! I'm not stupid Ann!"

"I remember when Ryuji was a little kid he'd go so excited for Santa to come he'd get out milk and cookies first thing Christmas Eve morning and-" Ryuji's mother told Ann.

"MOM!" Ryuji blushed.

"Oh honey it was so cute! You'd be wearin your cute little feetie pajamas and-" she continued as Ann took a seat at the table to listen to Ryuji's mother's stories.

"I'm just gonna go hang myself in my room!" he cried out as he ran away in complete embarrassment.

"Wow this is a lot of food!" Ann looked at the feast Ryuji's mother had laid out for them. There was both a small turkey and a small ham cooked for them along with buns, rice, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, and a variety of vegetables.

"I put a lot into our holiday dinner," Ryuji's mother sat down with a bottle of wine in her hand, "I make a lot of food so we can have leftover prepackaged meals for the next few weeks that I and Ryuji can take."

"Smart," Ann smiled as she watched Ryuji reach over and nervously drink his glass of water.

"Yeah," Ryuji slightly coughed as he set the glass back down, "Looks great mom. I can't wait to dig in!" the three of them began to doll out food on their plates.

"So tell me about yourself Ann," Ryuji's mother asked Ann, "Ryuji never talks about you all that much and I vaguely remember you from being Ryuji in… elementary school?"

"Middle," Ann corrected, "Ryuji and I knew each other in middle school and didn't really start hanging out until recently."

"Are you in the same class?" she asked.

"No, we just have a mutual friend together, Akira Kurusu," she told her, "He sits behind me."

"Ryuji mentioned Akira to me, he seems like a nice boy despite what people say about him," she confessed.

"He's a great guy," Ryuji took a bite of potatoes, "The best. If it weren't for him I probably wouldn't have gotten as close as I am to Ann."

"Yeah," Ann smiled, "He's great… Ryuji's great too. I'm really glad to be his girlfriend."

"Thanks Ann," Ryuji smiled, "I love you." His mother looked up from her plate as the two teenagers had puppy love written all over their faces.

"Oh I didn't realize you two were already that serious," the two turned their attention to her.

"We're serious, really serious," Ann smiled.

"Yeah Ann got me this promise bracelet thing," he lifted his arm up, "I've had this shit on for MONTHS!"

"Oh that's what that was, I thought it was a school armband for a club or something," she looked at it, "Changing the subject, what do your parents do Ann?"

"They're fashion designers so they constantly travel all over the place," Ann took a sip of water, "Next year they promised me they'd be back for Christmas so if you two aren't doing anything next year… maybe we could eat dinner together again… my parents cook lobsters for Christmas!"

"Well thank you for the offer Ann, but we'll have to wait and see that you two are still together then," she took a bite of turkey with a dash of stuffing on top.

"I think we'll still be together," Ryuji smiled.

"I think so too," Ann smiled back as the three of them enjoyed their dinner. Ann filled herself with as much food as she could, everything that Ryuji's mom cooked was so delicious and juicy and cooked to perfection, she quite clearly had spent a lot of time making this food all day long. Eventually, they ate a slice of the cake Ann had brought from the store, telling stories about each other.

"Speaking of," Ann smiled, "One time we were at the aquarium in middle school on a field trip," Ryuji's mother took a bite of cake.

"God…" Ryuji groaned as this was probably the thirtieth embarrassing story told about him at the table tonight.

"He spent all his money buying this little stuffed dolphin for you that I had to pay for his subway ride home," Ann laughed.

"You spent your train money on a dolphin Ryuji!" she scolded him.

"Mom that was like half a decade ago," he bemoaned, "Besides I've paid Ann back for it time and again. How many times have I paid for the subway for you?"

"Fair enough," Ann took a bite of the cake, "Thank you for all this Ms. Sakamoto. The food was cooked to perfection. I might have to start coming over her for dinner on a regular basis."

"Well most of our meals aren't as extravagant as this one," she got up to clear the table.

"Here let me help," Ann got up and grabbed the plate from her hands, "It's the least I can do for everything." Ann nodded as the two women began clearing the table, "Ryuji aren't you gonna help."

"Do I have to?" he argued.

"Yes!" they both said.

"Ugh… FINE!" he shot up, "If I knew my girlfriend was gonna turn into my mom I would've stopped myself." He began to clear the table.

"Do you two have any plans for the evening?" she looked at Ryuji and Ann.

"Uh, maybe," Ryuji smiled as Ann rolled her eyes.

"You wanna walk around downtown for a little bit?" she asked, "The sun's just setting, plus we gotta burn off some of these calories."

"That sounds nice," Ryuji's mother handed Ryuji a full bag of trash; "I'll be here. Go have fun you two."

"We will mom, thanks, I love you," he walked out the front entrance with Ann and tossed the garbage can at the edge of the street.

"Your mom is a nice woman," Ann locked her arm around Ryuji's, "I like her."

"Thanks," he muttered, "I'm still mad at you for making my mom dig up all those old stories about me!"

"Come on, they're cute!" Ann laughed.

"I don't think my girlfriend needs to know about the time I ate a bunch of worms on the playground and then puked on my teacher," he told her.

"Well I think that it's funny and cute and quirky," she continued to laugh as the two made their way downtown. No longer were they two Phantom Thieves hiding in plain sight, but just another couple lost in the crowds of Tokyo.

* * *

"…" Akira stared at the big screen near the top of a building as news stories poured across about Shido, The Phantom Thieves, and every possible story in between. Akira was waiting for someone, an urgent message came to LeBlanc as soon as he arrived back about the safety of himself and his friends.

"I didn't exspect to find the world's savior alone on Christmas Eve," he turned to see a familiar face. It was Sae Niijima, the prosecutor that he had befriended over the course of the past few weeks and more importantly the older sister and legal guardian of the woman he was so desperately in love with, "Can I talk to you for a minute?

"Yes," he smiled.

"First off, thank you for taking my request," she smiled back, "With your actions, I can only hope that public opinion changes. ...It will change, won't it?"

"I don't know…" Akira felt lost for the first time in quite some time. He no longer had his powers and no way to make sure it would change. All he could trust was his instinct that this had happened before and would happen again.

"…True," she brushed the bangs of her hair, "It was social reform on a scale no one has ever accomplished before. But I believe that it will. Shido confessed to a variety of crimes. We can arrest him on those charges."

"Good," he nodded.

"The problem lies in proving him guilty. It'd be difficult unless the correlation between the Metaverse and the mental shutdowns is made. Akechi, who perpetrated those crimes, has gone missing... You're the only ones left who can testify," she explained as she looked away from Akira, "I'll be blunt. I want you to turn yourself in to the police."

"What? Why?" Akira was taken back by the new request from Sae.

"Your testimony will be necessary in order to prove Shido's guilty..." she continued on at a mile a minute, "However... That will mean placing you on center stage. You'll be treated as a hero who saved this country... But there's no way that the police or the public prosecutors will let that slide. They'll lose face to you and The Phantom Thieves." The idea of being a hero to the public was somewhat appealing to Akira. All this time he wanted to change the world and he had managed to do it, but what good would it be if they never knew that the person who did it was still out there fighting for them, or even that the person who saved the world was just like them, but Akira knew that these were just greedy feelings that he couldn't let clout his judgement.

"If that happens, there's no telling what they'll do to you or your teammates. There's even the possibility they'll fabricate a crime and move to arrest you all," Sae pleaded as she thought about the horrible possibility of Makoto being arrested, tried, and possible executed by the state. Sae would lose all meaning in her life as being the guardian of such a criminal would blacklist her from any job and worse losing yet another family member, "If you turn yourself in to the police, you'll definitely be arrested. And there's your past record. The police and prosecution will strike there. They'll treat your arrest as "grave misconduct" and revoke your probation... You'll most likely be sent to juvenile hall... and placed in solitary confinement. They'll be content as long as they get a testimony without the Phantom Thieves being hailed as heroes. That should guarantee the safety of your teammates. Or rather, I'll make sure it's guaranteed. I'll close all the cases surrounding Shido. I intend to expose all of them. It's to prevent society from becoming distorted again. That's what you want too, isn't it?"

"Yes…" Akira realized that he needed to save his friends. He didn't want to see them hurt, and he knew neither of them wanted to see Makoto in any more danger, even if Sae didn't realize the two of them were together. He had treaded lightly over the course of his interrogation about their relationship and somehow despite all her intelligence Sae never managed to piece together that he loved her.

"This is almost like... a final deal between the two of us," Sae pondered aloud, "I'll ask once more. I'd like you to turn yourself in to the police, of your own accords." Sae stared at Akira, her eyes spelling out the sheer fear for Makoto she had and the desperation for Akira's affirmation towards the dael.

"I'll save my teammates..." Akira nodded, "Including Makoto."

"...Thank You," Sae let out a sigh in relief, "I had a feeling you'd say that... Leave the rest to us. All right, let's go. The two made their way together through the crowded streets together towards the police station. They hadn't gone more than a hundred feet before Akira's phone chimed with a new text. He pulled it out and saw it was from Makoto of all people.

"Is something wrong?" she stopped and turned to see Akira staring at his phone in paint.

"I-I need more time!" he pleaded, "Just one more day… there's something I need to do."

"…Very Well. You can turn yourself in tomorrow morning," Sae looked at Akira, "I will meet you at LeBlanc at 5:00AM. You need to be dressed and ready to turn yourself in. If you try to leave the country or run away…"

"I won't. I wouldn't betray you or my teammates trust like that ever," he told her.

"Very well," she smiled and turned away as Akira touched to open his phone.

_Makoto: I know that I should back feelings like this, given our situation... But it's Christmas Eve, I want to spend it together with you. Do you think we could walk around the city a bit... and then head back to your room?_

_Akira: That sounds great!_

_Makoto: Thank you! I'm over at Shibuya now. Let's meet up in front of the station._

* * *

"Christmas Eve is so beautiful," Ann leaned in on Ryuji's shoulder as they made their way through downtown Tokyo.

"You're the one that's beautiful," he snuggled up next to her.

"That dumb line worked ONCE on me," she laughed, "But thank you."

"No problem," he laughed, "I really love you. How's that one?"

"Better," she giggled as the two walked past a department store Christmas display with animated robotics portraying various Christmas themed displays much to the amusement of the many little kids running around the city with their parents.

"Hey Ryuji?" Ann looked up at him, "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Shoot," he said.

"Your hair… would you ever consider going back to your natural hair color?" she asked.

"I don't know… I've had it like this for so long…" he mumbled, "Do you really think I should change it."

"Personally," she smirked, "I think black hair is very very sexy."

"Well there's tons of black haired guys running around this city," he argued, "Maybe you should have dated one of those guys."

"Well… I think that it'd be a hell of a lot sexier on you," she tussled at his hair, "Come on Ryuji…"

"Ehhhh… maybe," he gave in, "Maybe next year…"

"I'll hold you to that!" she giggled as the two walked by a large outdoor ice rink.

"Skating!" he smiled, "We should skate!" he grabbed her and ran towards the line for the rink; "You know how to skate right?"

"I'm a little rusty, but it's like riding a bike!" she casually brushed him off, "You never really forget!" the two waited for in line to get their tickets.

"Alright for the two of you," the cashier spoke, "3000 yen for 30 minutes."

"I-" Ann pushed Ryuji's arm down, "I will pay," she reached into her purse.

"Come on Ann," he sighed, "I gotta pay for the dates! It's the RULES!"

"No it isn't you moron," she laughed and handed the guy his money, "If we're gonna be together for a long time you gotta be okay with me paying for stuff!" she dragged him towards the changing area, "Now pop those shoes off! Let's skate!"

* * *

" _Where am I!"_ Morgana panicked, " _Am I dead? Is this heaven? Where's god? The guy in the church was talking about Jesus! Where's Jesus? Is Jesus Japanese? JAPANESE JESUS CAN YOU HEAR ME_ " Morgana opened his eyes to see a figure, a old bearded man in pure white with a royal red aura surrounding him.

"Oh my god it's really him… he's an old white dude!" Morgana spoke aloud, "Jesus! I have come to you to-" Morgana stopped as he realized that this was not the afterlife, nor was this some divine figure. Morgana was in an old alley and had woken up was proclaiming divine belief not to some demigod, but rather to an empty bucket of chicken someone had missed throwing into the trash, "Oh… I'm alive…" Morgana looked around, "Wait a minute… I'M ALIVE!" he squealed and began to pace around, "YOU HEAR THAT WORLD! I'M ALIVE!" he stopped, "Akira!" he realized that he needed to find Akira, "Wait!" he yelled, "Am I…" he looked down at his small little paws, "A cat…" he ran towards a nearby puddle formed from melting snow and looked down at his reflection, showing a cat, "Ahhhh FUCK!" he screamed, "I'm a cat! I'm not a human! SHIT FUCK COCK SHIT FUCKING EFFIN CUNT TWAT PISS FUCK" Morgana began to spew out every curse word he had heard watching movies or television with Akira along with a few he picked up from the gang.

"What the hell's up with that cat?" a passerby motioned to his girlfriend as the two looked at a loudly meowing cat staring at a puddle.

"It's a stray dear, it's probably sick!" the passerby's wife dragged him along.

"CRAP!" Morgana stopped, "Wait! How do I not know I'm nor a human in a cat form THIS TIME…" he pondered, "Maybe there's some divine lesson I gotta figure out here to become human again!" he cheered, "I'll figure it out… but first…" he set off to find Akira. As he made his way down the street he began looking for some sort of familiar face or sight such that he could make his way to LeBlanc. As he did he eventually came across the same rink that Ryuji and Ann were at, hopping up on a nearby trashcan and looking out onto the ice to see his old friends.

"Ryuji! Lady Ann!" he cried out to them as the two were skating together on the ice hand-in-hand.

"There are a lot of children out tonight!" Ann looked around to see several families skating together.

"Probably wanna wear out the kids so they aren't up all night waiting for Santa!" he looked at the families too, "Ann what do you think about having kids?"

"I'd like to be married before I have them Ryuji," Ann lightly slapped Ryuji's stomach, "Nice try."

"No!" he took her hand in, "I mean HYPOTHETICALLY! Let's say you and I get married some day," he reasoned, "Would you wanna have kids?"

"Duh," she smiled, "That's why you get married! To raise a family!"

"How many kids would you want?" he asked.

"Two… maybe three…" she thought.

"I'd want at least five!" he told her.

"Stop it!" she laughed.

"I'm not kidding Ann! I want a big family! I wanna be the dad I wish I could've had and I want my kids to have siblings. You know how many times I wish I had a little brother or big sister?" he asked.

"I don't think I could handle having that many kids! You know how expensive that would get?" she told him, "Two or three."

"…" Ryuji seemed bum, "Four?"

"This is all a still hypothetical, right?" she asked Ryuji.

"Sure," he swept Ann of her feet and began to skate with her in his arms, swooning over how beautiful Ann looked in the light of the city. Little did he know Morgana was watching them skate as well, marveling over how happy the two seemed together.

" _They don't… they don't need me_ ," Morgana realized, " _They are happy… all by themselves… I gave them back their lives… a chance at happiness…"_ Morgana smiled, " _I'm really happy for you two… neither of you are cursed with the fate I found you with… go and be happy_." Morgana hopped down off the trashcan and walked towards another alley, " _This is my destiny. I will be a street cat and I will figure out what I must do to become human again… that is my mission…_ " Morgana set off on a new adventure, to live the life of a street cat and to find out what he needed to do. Maybe he needed to save his fellow strays, maybe fate would bring across a new set of humans to guide. Either case he would pursue this goal to the ends of The Earth and once he achieved it, he knew he would get his human form back and then he would reunite with his old friends not as a house cat, but as a fellow man.

* * *

Akira and Makoto made their way back into the cold emptiness of LeBlanc after wandering around the city together, "Everywhere is quite crowded during the Christmas season..." Makoto spoke as she tried to warm up, "Plus all the couples look so happy together..."

"Did you have fun?" he asked.

"Yes!" she proclaimed, "Thank you… for everything…"

"No problem," he walked with her up to his room, the heater keeping the attic of LeBlanc at a cozy temperature as the wood began to ice up. The two sat down on Akira's couch, simply staring into the other's eyes with pure love.

"So... what should we do now?" Makoto nervously chuckled, "We're finally alone together... This isn't any different than usual, is it?"

"You make every moment special," Akira channeled his inner-Ryuji.

"How can you say that with a straight face?" she looked away with a grin coming over her face, "Did you want to… you know… do that thing couples do where…" she gulped.

"No," he took her hands," I just want to be here with you for the next couple of hours," she leaned on his shoulder as he wrapped his hand around her and flicked on the small television. On screen was an old time Christmas movie in black and white. The two sat there watching the whole movie as Akira realized that this possibly could be the last time he held the woman he loved. He didn't know how long he would go away for. It could be years. Years of solitary confinement with no outside contact of any kinds besides the lawyers and cops. As the movie ended, Makoto sat up

"Oh, yes," she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small wrapped box, "Here, It's a present for you." He took it and pulled back the tassel of the ribbon to reveal a pure white box. Inside was a designer digital wristwatch nestled between purple silk, "I hope you like it..."

"Thank you!" he pulled it out and immediately put it on and booted it up. It displayed the time in Tokyo, the time In Europe, and the time in The Americas.

"Handle it with care," she told him as she squirmed around in her seat, "I-I don't mean to change the subject so suddenly... But my sister has been handling the Shido case. Seems like she's run into some trouble... Not quite sure on what though... All she's told me is that they're having a hard time getting people to testify against him. I trust my sister, and... I'm sure she'll do her job well, but it's a little scary not knowing what might happen," she looked over at Akira who had a couple of tears forming in his eyes, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," he wiped his eyes.

"….I-I'm sorry for bringing up such a strange topic. On Christmas Eve, no less... I'll be going now," she got up.

"I'll walk you back," he stood up out of his seat to stop Makoto. He decided he would walk back with Makoto, explain everything, and be there with her when he turned himself in with Sae. He needed to explain why to her, but he didn't want to break her heart.

"No, I'm fine... Hey, you're keeping something from me, aren't you...?" she looked at him as he had a guilty expression written on his face, "Never mind. Good night."

"MAKOTO!" he grabbed her arm, "Makoto I…"

"What?" she asked.

"I love you," he told her, "I know I've never said it before, but I need you to know that I love you!"

"I love you too!" she began to cry and the two hugged, "I just want you to tell me what's going on!"

"I… I can't!" he declared, "Go home Makoto… go home…" he smiled as a couple tears rolled down his cheeks. Makoto turned away and began to walk down the stairs, "HEY!" he stopped her again.

"Yes?" she looked at him.

"…Chocolate cake?" he asked.

"Chocolate cake," she smiled and nodded as she exited his room. Akira waited for the sound of the café doors to open and close before fully breaking down in tears. This entire day was the biggest emotional ride of his life and it wasn't over yet. It was less than 8 hours before Akira had to meet Sae outside the café, Akira setting an alarm on his clock and crawling under the covers, dreading the days to follow without his friends and without the love of his life.

* * *

"What a day," Ryuji grunted as she took his shirt off and tossed it in the nearby pile by the door. He had taken Ann home and was now back at his house, climbing into his nice warm bed to retire for the night. Ryuji and Ann had spent the past couple of hours together walking around nearly every inch of Downtown Tokyo, ecstatic that all this was over. As Ryuji closed his eyes to go to sleep, he heard his door squeak open as Ann of all people peeked her head inside, "Ann?" he softly spoke.

"Shh…" Ann tiptoed into the room.

"What the eff I took you home," he looked as Ann stood up straight and put her hands behind her back.

"I forgot to give you your Christmas present!" she told him, "Three guesses!"

"Huh?" he asked, "Three guesses?"

"Yeah, guess!" she giggled.

"I, uh… is it another bracelet," he wiggled his wrist around, "This things starting to itch Ann!"

"Nope!" she squealed, "Two more."

"Is it that brand new video game console that came out?" he asked, "It's portable and it had all those cool new games on it!"

"Nope, no video games," she told him, "This is way better than any dumb video game!"

"Money?" he asked.

"NOPE!" she laughed, "You lose! Here's what it is," she brought her hands forward and leaned towards Ryuji revealing absolutely nothing but her bare hands to Ryuji.

"What?" he looked at her.

"It's me!" she pointed to herself.

"…" Ryuji looked at Ann, "Ohhhh, I get it," Ryuji complained, "You're my girlfriend and that's the gift… ha ha ha Ann. You could've just texted me that joke and saved the train fare."

"Well I figure it's not as much as what I'm giving you," she chirped, "As what I'm TAKING from you right now."

"…" Ryuji's eyes went as wide as a human's eyes could possibly go as he began to pant, "You mean… you're gonna… take… my… virginity?"

"Yup," she walked over and threw The cover's off Ryuji, and reached into the front pocket of her pants and pulled over several condoms as she placed them on the nightstand near Ryuji's bed. Ann climbed on top of Ryuji and began to remove what little clothing Ryuji had left.

"This is happening! Holy shit this is happening!" he cheered himself on, "I'm gonna fuck you!"

"That you are," she kissed him and began ripping her own clothes off.

"And you're gonna fuck me!" he shook in pure anticipation.

"That's how it works," she leaned over and grabbed one of the condoms off of the stand and ripped it open and grasped Ryuji's hand around it as she slid her panties off. Ryuji nervously messed with the small latex circle as he put it on, making sure it was on securely before Ann scooted forward.

"So this is it," she smiled, "We may not be Phantom Thieves of Hearts anymore, but I'm stealing something tonight… your innocence," she licked her lips and kissed him while driving forward.

"Oh my FUCKING GOD!" Ryuji cried out trying not to wake his mother.

"Congratulations," she smiled, "You're now a man and I'm now a woman…" the two sat completely still as Ryuji basked in the glory of the moment. Eventually the two picked up speed and began the awkward process of making love. Ryuji and Ann were very very very bad at sex and messed up at almost every boulevard as the magic wore off. However, that did not stop them from getting where they needed to go. After a couple of hours and several intense sessions they collapsed next to each other in bed, covered in sweat and other bodily fluids.

"Holy shit… that was sex…" Ryuji laughed, "We did it!"

"Yeah," she cracked her back, "That was fun!"

"I'd do it again, but I'm tired as FUCK!" he closed his eyes, "Are you gonna… stay here?"

"It's 4:00 in the morning Ryuji, of course I'm staying here," she placed her head next to his on the same pillow, "Goodnight Ryuji."

"Goodnight… Ann… I love you," he closed his eyes and immediately passed out.

* * *

"…" Sae waited outside the café for Akira. It was 5:02 and Sae was getting nervous that he had indeed flown the nest and was on the run. If he had, she would need to file a missing persons report and notify the police and the loads of paperwork to follow would be the biggest nightmare. Fortunately, a couple more minutes passed and the teenager emerged in the same clothes as the day before, the hood over his head and all, "Thank you for doing this again."

"Yeah," Akira walked with Sae towards the parking garage. She was several blocks from LeBlanc, driving a sleek new silver car that looked, smelled, and ran like it was brand new. She opened the back seat door for Akira. He climbed in, the black fine leather of the car all felt scary to him. Sae closed the door, walking up to the driver's seat door in front of him and entering.

"…I want breakfast," he muttered.

"Breakfast?" she asked.

"Drive-thru…Big Bang Burger" he asked.

"…" Sae looked at him as Akira hung his head down.

"Last meal," he spoke again.

"Very well," she started the car. As she made her way down the nearly empty street she looked back to see Akira's head still hanging down as he was messing with a small watch on his wrist.

"That watch…" she looked at it, "That's an expensive watch… where did you acquire it?"

"It was a gift… from the woman I love…" he told her.

"So you have a girlfriend?" she asked.

"Yes," he spoke up, "She is the most beautiful and wonderful woman I have ever known in the 17 years I've been on this planet. She's smart and funny and everything about her is perfect. When I get out of jail the first thing I'm doing is calling her… and telling her I'm sorry… sorry for… this."

"… That's very admirable of you," Sae smiled, "There are not many men like you in this world so devoted to monogamy. If I weren't in the position I was I would possibly consider asking you out on a date… and if we weren't so different in age. I can only hope my sister finds a man like you someday."

"Heh…" he laughed as Sae pulled up to the big bang burger drive-thru.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"…. Two bacon and egg sandwiches and a large coffee…" he continued to chuckle. Sae placed the order along with another order for a large coffee as she bought his food and handed back to him, knowing full well what kind of food awaited him on the inside of a prison cell.

"Mmmm," Akira chowed down on the fattening and greasy breakfast that was sure to be his last for months to come, "…Sae…" he looked up at her.

"Yes?" he asked.

"I… I want you to do one last thing for me," he asked.

"What?" she looked back at his as he dropped the sandwich in his bag and his head ragdolled back down again. As she continued to stare through the rear-view mirror, she noticed a few tears splatter against his glasses as he tried to compose himself.

"Chocolate cake…" he spoke.

"You want cake now?" she asked, "I gave you breakfast. Don't be greedy."

"No… not for me…" he took his glasses off, "Can you get the cake… for Makoto?" he asked.

"What?" she looked at him again.

"I promised her… all of them… chocolate cake…" he sobbed, "Just get her the cake for me!" he cried out as he began to bite back into the fast food breakfast to subside his tears.

"Alight, I will buy her a chocolate cake," she sighed, "She'll need it after she learns I jailed her friend." The car pulled up to the police station as several officers were waiting outside for them, "Are you ready for this?"

"I am, I'm doing this for my friends… for Makoto," he nodded to her and opened the car door, throwing the empty fast food bag to the ground and walking towards the officers with his hands up. Sae watched as they cuffed him and forcefully dragged him into the station to be processed. As Sae pulled away from the police station she felt an immense amount of guilt come over her for tearing this boy away from his friends, even though it needed to be done.

* * *

"SIS!" Makoto yelled as she entered home. Sae was currently sitting at the table on her laptop over viewing several case files relating to Shido's trial. Sae looked up to see Makoto fuming as see stormed over and slammed her purse down on the table, "WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

"Makoto I…" she closed her laptop.

"Did you…" she gasped and looked at the small rectangular tinfoil container with a clear plastic lid on top that was sitting at the other end of the table, "What is that?"

"It's cake," she said.

"Cake… CAKE!" she ran over and ripped the lid off, "Chocolate cake… CHOCOLATE CAKE!" Makoto screamed as tears flung from here ears.

"Makoto," Sae got up as Makoto grabbed the cake and flung it into the wall, frosting splattering everywhere as Makoto fell down to her knees and wailed, "MAKOTO!"

"YOU THREW HIM IN JAIL!" she screamed.

"He turned himself in so you all didn't get hurt!" Sae told her.

"Why didn't you tell me!?" Makoto cried.

"Because… I knew you would try to talk him out of it!" Sae explained her rationale, "He needed to do this himself. It's the only way I can put Shido behind bars for good. I needed him. I am working around the clock to get him out of jail! You have to trust me Makoto."

"Y-You should've told me!" Makoto grabbed her sister's legs, "I LOVE HIM SO MUCH."

"What!?" Sae was taken back, "You love him… but," Sae then realized all the little hints Akira had dropped. All the time those two had spent together he had mentioned in interrogation. The closeness of the two whenever she happened to be around them and most of all his reaction in the car, "I didn't know you two…"

"…" Makoto continued to cry, "Please sis… don't keep him away from me…"

"Makoto…" she knelt down and hugged her little sister, "I will do everything I can to get Akira out of jail and when he does… I want you to be happy with him… I promise…" the two sisters stayed together for quite some time, Sae finding a new resolve to fight for Akira's freedom.


	8. Chapter 8

"Long time no see," Sae approached the visitor's station Akira was seated at. Akira had been in jail, worse solitary isolation, for several weeks now and he hated every moment of it. He missed his friends, his family, and even school. The soul crushing moments of loneliness were only broken by police interrogations asking the same questions over and over, but Akira stuck to his testimony, hoping it'd be enough for a conviction.

"I have two great pieces of news for you today," Sae took a seat, "First; we finally managed to prosecute Masayoshi Shido. He'll likely be found guilty. I'm grateful for your cooperation with the trial. Your testimony proved to be very useful." She smiled.

"I'm glad to hear that," Akira smiled that all his hard work had finally paid off.

"To be frank, it seemed almost hopeless at one point," her smile turned to worry for a brief moment, "But thanks to the civil protests, some of the more indecisive prosecutors came to our side. It will likely be some more time until the hearing begins, but this is the first step to true change. The only charges right now are for breaking election laws, breaking funding control laws, and bribery. I knew that proving the Metaverse's existence would be difficult... but I still find myself dissatisfied. Shido did admit to all his crimes though, including everything you know about," she explained to him, "Now for the other piece of good news. As of today, you'll be free to go."

"I get to leave?" Akira face lit up.

"That's right," Sae was glad to see Akira happy again, "Shido's confession brought light to the truth of your case. We were able to prove your innocence in the original assault charge that led to your arrest. Your sentence will no doubt be rescinded. You're a free man," Akira let out a huge gasp of relief as he realized that everything he wanted was coming true, "The others did everything they could for you. Bringing in the woman who was the victim in your case as a witness was the turning point. That wasn't all... An unbelievable amount of support has come in from various other places as well. To think they'd be able to track down someone involved in a case from well over a year ago... Regardless, the righteous Phantom Thieves are gone," Sae watched Akira's posture relax to the point where he was almost falling out of his chair, "All that remains is for us adults to lead society in the right direction... Then again, I have to wonder if you believe what I say."

"We made a promise," Akira nodded.

"Thank you," Sae nodded back, "Still, I'm glad I was able to save you in court. I've never felt so happy in my entire life. I'm not quite sure how to put it, but... saving your future meant more to me than my own career. I feel like you even taught me how to live."

"That wasn't my intention..." Akira conceded.

"That's not true..." she shook her head, "By the way, there's something that's been on my mind. What did the treasure of my world turn out to be?"

"Why do you want to know?" he asked, "I don't remember anyways."

"I suppose it doesn't matter now one way or the other," Sae looked over at the other stations, most of them empty, "There is... one more thing. I haven't even told Makoto about this... But I realized something after meeting all of you. My most prized "treasure" is the justice I use to protect those important to me. Makoto helped show me that as well. Once the Shido case is settled, I'm thinking of quitting my job and becoming a defense lawyer."

"Good for you," Akira cheered for her.

"I wanted to reform the system, but I'll have to leave that to someone else. Going forward, I want to enact justice not for myself, but for the sake of others. Well then, I need to go submit the paperwork for your release..." she got up, "Ah, that reminds me. May I ask you one final thing?"

"Sure," Akira agreed.

"According to your testimony, you could have stopped after taking Kamoshida down, couldn't you?" she asked, "Why did you continue acting as the Phantom Thieves? Perhaps I'm thinking too much into this, but... a thief who justly stole the hearts of others, and a criminal who controlled them for his own gain... It seems your destiny has been tied to Shido's for some time... and now, it's finally settled. Doesn't this seem a little too perfect? It's almost as though someone planned it all... Could it be that this was your goal from the very beginning?"

Akira pondered for a moment, it really did seem all to perfect, but what was the reason behind all this, was there reason. He took a deep breath and looked up at her with a devilish grin, "It was all a game."

"A 'game'..." she playfully giggled, "That's quite the fitting response for you. You know, this job has shown me my fair share of criminals and convicts. But if young people like you exist in this world, maybe things aren't as hopeless as they seem. I'm sorry for rambling. I shouldn't keep that man waiting for too long..." Sae began to walk away, "OH! Actually one more thing…" Sae quickly turned around and sat back in the seat.

"Another question?" Akira asked still grinning.

"Makoto… it that a game to you too?" she asked.

"Absolutely not!" Akira's grin was quickly wiped from his face.

"Then your intentions are real with her?" she asked, "Makoto has spent more time than anyone else in the team trying to get you out. I've seen her spend entire nights up pouring through records and law books trying to take notes for me… drinking coffee you taught her to make…"

"I hope I taught her well," Akira tapped his foot.

"It was quite good," Sae stood back up, "I'm glad that she found someone like you… but just to let you know… if you do ANYTHING to hurt her you'll pay a worse price than this… that I can assure you!"

"I would never hurt her," Akira stood up as well.

"Good," Sae turned away, "Thank you again for everything you've done. See you later." Sae walked away as a guard came to escort Akira to his cell.

"PRISONER P17151675944" a guard swung to small slot to Akira's cell open where his meals were delivered. The inside of Akira's cell was completely bare, dim blue concrete walls covered every inch with no light except the small bulb hanging in the center of the ceiling illuminated the room. Akira had a bed, no sheets of course, and a single pillow as well as a toilet and a couple of books that the prison loaned him, one of the few amenities that the prison gave to people in his situation to prevent him from completely losing his mind. However, Akira knew a single disobedient action would result in them being taken away, "YOU ARE BEING DISCHARGED!" the police shouted into the door, "PLEASE PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR AND REMAIN STILL WHILE WE ESCORT YOU!" the door swung open as Akira followed the orders and two police officers rushed in, their hands on their sidearms as they walked behind him and began to escort him out of the cell.

As they made their way down the hallway, Akira fondly remembered the first time he came here. He was so scared of what might happen, all the other prisoners in the juvenile detention center sneered at him and yelled. In his case, there were three reasons why you would be put into a cell like he was in: He was a dangerous criminal, such as a murderer or mentally insane, a sexual deviant, such as a pedophile or rapists, or he was famous and thus received preferential treatment. Unfortunately Akira was not famous and did not look like a murderer, so this led to several prisoners mistaking him for a sexual predator and they few occasions he would come across other prisoners they would try to attack him.

"Discharge is this way," The officer grabbed Akira's arm and ripped him down a new hall way. As they made their way to processing, more and more officers and criminals appeared in the hallways, Akira growing impatient as he knew freedom was inches away. Eventually they came across a small counter, "Prisoner P17151675944." The officer told the man behind the counter who proceeded to go into the storage room behind him and bring out a small box.

"Prisoner P17151675944," the man behind the counter looked at Akira, "Is this your identification number?"

"Yes," Akira nodded.

"Family name Kurusu, given name Akira," he asked.

"Yes," Akira agreed again.

"The following are a list of items you were confiscated with," the man reached into the small metal box, "One pair of red checkered boxer shorts, one pair of blue denim jeans, one polyester black coat, one grey v-neck undershirt, one pair of black rim bifocal glasses, one digital watch," he laid out each item before Akira, "Are these all the items you were arrested with?"

"Ye-" Akira looked at the watch, "My watch!" he grabbed it and looked at it, "You broke it!" he stared in horror as a large crack ran across the 1 to the 7, several smaller cracks branching off from the large one.

"Items damaged during arrest are not our responsibility," he told him as he scribbled something down on the list, "As you can see right here it was confiscated as broken," Akira stared at the paper that was now newly marked with "A broken digital watch."

"…" Akira grimaced.

"You better think real carefully about what you're about to do," the officer warned Akira as he tightly clenched his hand with the watch. Akira took a deep breath, strapping the watch on his left wrist before going to change into his old clothes. He was given a small blue police bag with for his old prison clothes before escorted out the door as a free man once more.

"I hope you enjoyed your stay," the guardsman guarding the door pulled it open, "See you next time." Akira ignored him as he exited to the outside world.

"Namaste!" Futaba yelled as Akira and Sojiro walked in the door.

"Whoa!" Sojiro yelled as everyone in the café rushed over to their friend.

"You did it!" Ryuji yelled

"It has been a while," Yusuke smiled

"Not bad. You look fine," Ann complimented Akira.

"I'm glad you seem well," Haru joined in as Akira looked at all his friends. Nothing had changed, life went on for them as normal and now that he was back he hoped it would go normal for him as well.

"Come sit over here!" Makoto grabbed his arm and dragged him to a booth as the others followed.

"I gotta head out and grab some groceries," Sojiro grabbed his pack of cigarettes off the counter and began slamming the bottom against his other hand, "I'm pretty sure you guys have plenty to talk about." He exited the café.

"Man!" Ryuji let out a big sigh, "It went well, yeah!?"

"I'm so glad we didn't give up," Makoto smiled at Akira who was still looking at her.

"This was certainly worth the effort," Yusuke agreed.

"We didn't know what to do once you were gone... But then we realized something. Even if we don't have the Metaverse or any other special powers, we can still change reality," Ann explained to Akira.

" We were runnin' around everywhere we could since the new year... It musta been over a month," Ryuji let out an exhausted gasp.

"Not just us," Haru interjected, "Everyone who believed in you joined us."

"Thanks to that, we've got our leader back!" Futaba cried out in joy

"You guys," Akira smiled as a slight tear came to his eye, "You saved me."

"Right back atcha," Ryuji nodded.

"They treated you fine, right?" Ann looked at Akira with concern, "Actually... did you lose some weight?

"It would be understandable... I've heard the food in prison is quite foul..." Yusuke's vivid mind raced with ideas, "So what did you eat?"

"Was it bugs? Fermented mackerel? Or maybe durian?" Futaba gasped in horror.

"Just gruel," Akira explained, "Like mass produced, overcooked, bland gruel of food. Only good part was the applesauce I occasionally got for breakfast… if that was applesauce… I think I tasted apples. Bugs would've been nice. I've heard fried crickets are quite delicious, right Yusuke."

"I've heard bugs can be a delicacy if prepared rights," Yusuke told them all, "Even bugs like worms, tarantulas, and sometimes scorpions can-"

"You're all really missing the point," Makoto sighed.

"Eh, you're gonna get some good food soon enough though," Ryuji slapped his stomach, "Boss is out gettin' stuff for our party right now. C'mon everyone's back together! It's time to celebrate!" he yelled.

" Everyone..." Haru looked down at the ground with sadness in her voice.

"Well, not quite everyone..." Futaba joined in with Haru.

"Right... Morgana..." Ann missed Morgana, wondering if there was some way that Morgana was watching over them.

"Good morning everyone!" Morgana shouted as he emerged from his abode. Morgana's abode since Christmas had been underneath an old brick building in one of the older parts of Tokyo. Morgana had been taken in by a colony of stray cats that lived underneath the building as well, getting in through a large hole in the foundation. Over the past two months Morgana had learned how to be a cat. He learned how to hunt for mice, he learned how to communicate with the other cats, and most importantly he learned survival skills, "How is everyone doing today!?" Morgana asked as the rest of the cats ignored him, "Jonny!" Morgana greeted a orange and white cat who was lapping water up from a nearby puddle, "Listen man, you're the alpha male here so I was wondering…" Morgana explained as he approached the puddle, "I gotta go… my friend… he just released from jail and I miss him so much…" Morgana looked to Jonny for a response, but one never came, "Is it okay if I sorta… leave the commune?" Morgana continued to stare at Jonny who began to walk away from the puddle, "Okay… I'll take that as a YES!" Morgana sighed and began to say his goodbyes to the other cats.

"Hey guys I'm heading home so…" Morgana popped his head into the abode, "OH! I see, uhh… you guys are all… getting busy making more… babbies!" Morgana nervously laughed as he watched about 20 or so cats participating it what could only be described as an orgy, "I never… really got into the whole… sex thing… I'm saving myself for a girl… HUMAN GIRL!" he corrected himself, "She's got herself a boyfriend, but you know maybe they'll break up someday and," Morgana talked loudly as the female cats screamed in agony, "Yeah…that's not as fun as I thought it would be… but hey, I'm not a cat, just a human in a cat form… I'll become human someday…" Morgana continued to watch, "I'm gonna go now! Bye guys!" Morgana quickly exited to scene and made his way through the city. Finally, after what felt like the most enjoyable moment of Morgana's short life, Morgana came across Café Leblanc. As Morgana approached the door, he stopped himself.

"Come on Morgana," he turned away, "They don't want me still… right?" Morgana leaned in to listen to what was happening in the café.

"...He may have been the key person on this whole mission. We even considered what he would do when we were about to give up," Makoto remembered Morgana.

"Mona totally woulda done something, right? That cat would never quit on you," Ryuji chuckled.

"He was always there to pull us forward," Haru smiled

"Morgana truly was the engine of The Phantom Thieves," Yusuke made a toast.

"He was a car, after all!" Ann laughed

"I wanna see Mona again..." Futaba's voice cracked

"They do care about me…" Morgana smiled as he pushed the door open, "Now say something cool!"

" Huh? That was quick, Boss—" Ryuji looked at the door which seemingly opened by itself.

"Someone call for me?" Morgana smiled.

"Mona!?" Ryuji exclaimed as everyone in the café stood up to see Morgana, flesh and blood, standing before them proud as a peacock and proceeded to strut onto one of the barstool as everyone watched in amazement.

"What're you doing here!?" Ann shouted, "I-I mean, didn't you disappear!?"

"Looks like the only me that disappeared was the one in the Metaverse," Morgana smiled.

"Huh?" Ryuji looked at Morgana.

"So.. you stayed in reality as a cat?" Makoto asked.

"When I woke up, I was out in Shibuya looking like this," Morgana told his story.

"That doesn't make any sense though! I mean, if you were alive, you shoulda come back right away!" Ryuji told him.

"I..." Morgana looked away in embarrassment, "It was right after I had said goodbye. It would've been awkward to come back so soon..."

"It seems he finally learned how to be tactful," Yusuke smirked

"He's grown!" Futaba pointed at him, "You got FAT!"

"I'm not fat!" Morgana looked down at his belly, "You know I just was more resourceful than the other strays at obtaining food," Morgana nervously smiled, "I knew you guys had found your witness, so I was just waiting for Akira to get discharged. Well done on that, seriously. You pulled it off even without my help."

"You've already returned to your normally conceited self!?" Makoto scoffed

"I'm sorry I worried you all," Morgana apologized, "Oh, can I borrow the shower before you all rush to hug me? I was stray for so long I think I might smell…" Morgana sniffed his foot.

"This ain't the time for a shower, you stupid cat!" Ryuji yelled at him, "We all missed you!"

"Give us our tears back!" Haru began to cry a little.

"You are unforgivable," Yusuke turned his head away in disgust! Futaba walked over and began to punch Morgana's chubby cheeks and wiggle his head around.

"HRGH!" Morgana cried out as Haru began to giggle instead of cry, "Sh-Shtop ith!" he cried through his punched cheeks, Futaba finally letting go, "Talk about a harsh welcome..."

"This is how it should be," Makoto smiled.

"Matters are finally back to normal," Yusuke agreed.

"Right!" Ryuji snapped his finger.

"It's great that you're back and all, but what're you gonan do now?" Ann asked.

"Well, I've been thinking..." Morgana looked at Ann.

"About what?" Ann asked.

"Oh god here we go again," Ryuji complained as Morgana stared at Ann.

"Not that idiot!" Morgana yelled, "I mean, you know… how to become human, of course."

"Oh really?" Makoto wondrously looked at Morgana.

"I might've learned that I'm not a human now," Morgana cleverly explained, "But that doesn't mean I can't turn into one! Plus, I think there's a reason I survived like this."

"Regardless, I'm glad to see you're safe," Yusuke comforted Morgana.

"Now this is just a guess... but I think I'm still here because you all remained cognitive of me... Even after the world's distortions disappeared, you kept me in your minds... That means you guys think there's a place for me in the real world," Morgana put the pieces together.

" Of course, This is where you belong, Mona!" Futaba smiled.

"She's correct," Haru and Futaba both rejoiced that Morgana was back.

"So…" Ryuji looked at Akira, "...Oh yeah! Sorry for buttin' in and all... But we heard from Boss... you're goin' back home next month? Can't you stay here? Sure we proved you're not guilty, but people're still gonna label you there, aren't they? Ain't it just gonna be uncomfortable goin' back?"

"I should go back… I miss my parents and my room…" Akira remembered, "Not that I won't miss you guys… it's not like I'm that far away. It's a 30 minute train ride! I don't live in the boonies or something!" he comforted them. The crew grew somber as they realized that all this time together was soon going to be distant memories.

"What's the matter?" Makoto tried to cheer the group up, "We were all so excited a moment ago. How about this? If our leader is leaving, the Phantom Thieves are truly disbanding, correct? Today we can celebrate Akira's release... and commemorate the day of our disbandment."

"What kind of commemoration is that?" Ann disregarded the notion.

"I was serious when I said it..." Makoto angrily stared Ann down.

"It sounds like a good idea to me," Haru smiled.

"I guess you're right! We just gotta double our excitement for today!" Ryuji got pumped up.

"Ahem... I know this is sudden, but I've decided to go with Akira. He's pretty special, after all. If I stay by him, I might be able to figure out how I can become human too. Plus, we need someone there in case he turns back into a delinquent! Morgana and the rest laughed.

"I'm counting on you!" Akira nodded to his pet.

"Leave it to me. Either way, I want you guys to add my farewell party to the one we're having tonight!" Morgana declared.

"I dunno... Is that important?" Ryuji mocked Morgana.

"You're not leaving for another month, right?" Haru asked.

"It is far too early for a farewell party," Yusuke told Morgana.

"That'll just muddy the purpose of this celebration,"

"Then it can be my comeback party! Nobody can complain about that, right!? I demand sushi! SUSHI!" Morgana yelled.

"God damn you're annoying," Ryuji complained, "I miss the quiet."

"Shut up Ryuji!" Morgana barked at him.

"…" Ryuji suddenly got an evil smirk on his face, "… You know…" he looked at Ann.

"What?" Ann watched Ryuji turn to Morgana.

"There's… uh… something that you should know Morgana…" Ryuji could barely contain himself.

"Don't Ryuji," Ann tried to stop him.

"What?" Morgana asked.

"Uh… you know… there's a bit of a… factor… it's like a bonding thing that you and Ann could you know… talk about… as a shared experience…" he was giddy with joy.

"… what?" Morgana watched Ryuji carefully.

"Well… uh…" Ryuji leaned in and whispered into Morgana's ear, "I've been inside both of you." He leaned back with a huge grin on his face as Morgana took it all in.

"Huh?" Morgana asked, "How could… oh no..." he looked at Ann, "OH NOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOO!" Morgana screeched as Ryuji laughed at his pain.

"What did you say to him?" Akira asked.

"Ryuji!" Futaba slapped him and began to hold Morgana as Haru also held onto the sobbing cat.

"I don't know what you said, but that must've been pretty mean," Haru scolded Ryuji.

"Worth it," Ryuji smirked.

"What did he say?" Futaba scratched behind Morgana's ears.

"He-He-He" he stilled cried, "He told me how he had is thing in Ann's thing and how he also was technically inside me…. It was a joke about him being in my car form."

"Ann can transform into a car?" Yusuke asked, "What type of car? It must be an American made car…" he wondered what an Ann shaped car would look like and if he could draw it.

"I've always wondered what it'd be like to be a vehicle," Haru looked at Ann who had her hand over her face in complete embarrassment over Ryuji's actions.

"Wait… inside?" Futaba realized, "Wait so like Ryuji was…."

"Of course!" Yusuke came to the sudden realization, "He was inside her in the sense that they performed the act of sexual intercourse!" Yusuke smiled, "That is a clever joke Ryuji."

"Wait so you and Ann did… it?" Makoto blushed.

"Oh don't act like you and Aki-" Ryuji brushed Makoto off before looking at Akira who was blushing as well, "OH DON'T TELL ME YOU TWO… OH MY GOD!" he jumped up and down, "This is the greatest day of my life!" he laughed.

"Why?" Futaba asked.

"You know what this means?" he yelled, "I'm the alpha-male now! I get to be the leader."

"The Phantom Thieves don't exist anymore Ryuji!" Ann stood up, "Besides what WE did doesn't magically make you more of a leader than Akira."

"It kinda does because Akira is a virgin!" Ryuji told him, "Yusuke's a virgin, Morgana's a virgin, and I'm NOT a virgin!" he gave a thumbs up, "I officially am the manliest man here."

"This is the worst day ever," Morgana sighed.

"…" Ann watched Ryuji continue to gloat over his friends.

"Anyone have anything else to say?" Ryuji basked in the glory of his own awesomeness.

"If it's any consolation Ryuji's pretty small to be honest," Ann declared.

"Ye-Wait what!?" Ryuji's jaw dropped.

"OHHH!" Akira laughed as the other girls blushed.

"GOT EM!" Futaba began to laugh too, "GOTTEM GOOD! KEK!"

"Man, you guys're loud," Sojiro walked into the café to see the gang all laughing and having a good time whilst Ryuji stood there in disbelief, "I could hear you from outside. Oh, I was wondering why I heard meowing. The cat's back."

"Chief! They're so mean!" Morgana complained, "Ryuji… well… Ryuji's apparently got a problem…"

"Noisy as always..." Sojiro sighed.

"Hey! I'm not some... normal cat!" Morgana complained again.

"I can't understand what you're saying to me, you know," Sojiro extended his hand, "Here."

"No, I would much rather have sushi than something like..." Morgana began to chew, "This is delicious!"

"Sheesh," Sojiro walked behind the counter, "What an assertive little guy... I wonder where he got that from."

"If Morgana becomes human, he may end up just like Akira," Yusuke told the group.

"I can see that," Haru smiled.

"Totally possible," Futaba agreed.

"Me be like him... Well... that wouldn't be so bad. I definitely don't want to be like Ryuji though," Morgana joked.

"What was that!?" Ryuji yelled.

"It's things like that. You get angry so fast! Oh, and you're vulgar!" Morgana listed off reasons, "Oh and we all just learned you're lacking in the most important department… explains the shoe sizes…" Morgana looked at Ryuji's feet as Akira burst out laughing again at his friend's pain.

"You little... Why don't you go disappear again!?" Ryuji wanted to storm off.

"Come on, you deserved that," Akira couldn't stop laughing.

"I don't need a goddamn cat telling me how I have small dick!" Ryuji began to undo his belt, "Here! I'll show you all!" the group began to yell for Ryuji to stop as Sojiro quickly ran over and slammed Ryuji against the counter.

"The hell you will!" Sojiro yelled.

"The cat's telling everyone I have a small dick!" Ryuji yelled.

"Ann told us that!" Morgana yelled back.

"Shut up! We're supposed to be celebrating, not fighting!" Ann stopped the two, "You started it Ryuji and I am ending it."

"They're at it again..." Makoto sighed as she watched the three continue to bicker.

"The world's changed, but you guys are the same as ever..." Sojiro sighed.

"Seriously... That weirdo Inari," Futaba exclaimed.

"Who are you calling a weirdo!?" Yusuke yelled.

"Why don't you tell Ann about those drawings in your little book?" Futaba looked at Ann.

"What drawings?" Ann yelled at Yusuke.

"If we're all gonna yell at each other, can I at least yell at Haru for making me drink coffee with elephant shit in it?" Akira asked.

"It was a delicacy!" Haru defended herself.

"Oh dear lord," Sojiro watched the teenagers break down into a huge argument and fight between each other as he poured himself a cup of coffee and lit a cigarette, looking out the window for someone to come to his rescue.

"Oh right," Sojiro looked at the calendar on the wall, "Today's Valentine's Day. No wonder there were so many guys bringing girls in here." Sojiro looked over at Akira who was busy scrubbing dishes, "Don't you have anything exciting happening with that girlfriend of yours? I mean, you've been here nearly a whole year and Ryuji was bragging about his exploits yesterday after all the girls went home. Y'know when I was young... hoo boy!" Sojiro fondly remembered his youth. As he did the door suddenly opened as Makoto walked in with a small yellow present.

"Good evening! Sorry to barge in like this…" she nervously laughed.

"There we go," Sojiro smirked, "Here, I'll leave the store to you. Enjoy yourselves and above all be safe..." he walked towards the exit.

"Akira…" Morgana whispered as he appeared behind Akira, motioning for him to lean down to him, "I'm heading out to… I need you to retake your title as the alpha male from Ryuji!" Morgana whispered, "I need you to please her in ways Ryuji could never please Lady Ann… also… don't be a prick and cover your dick!" he clicked his tongue and walked out of the café with Sojiro.

"Kid's getting lucky tonight," Sojiro chuckled.

"We can only hope so, if I have to hear about Ryuji and Lady Ann one more time I will end up shooting him again," Morgana nodded.

"I don't know what the hell you said, but I agree," Sojiro headed out for a night on the town. There were plenty of single older ladies in need of male companionship and Sojiro knew just the places to find them.

"He was quite considerate," Makoto walked over to a booth with Akira, "Thank you for agreeing to spend this time with me."

"It's not too cold is it?" Akira asked, "I can get another heater."

" It's OK..." she smiled, "I wanted to come here... Oh yes, I... I want you to have this. I considered making it by hand... would you have preferred that?" she pushed the box of chocolates towards Akira.

"Anything from you is perfect," Akira patted the box.

"That sounds like something a guy at a host club would say," Makoto laughed, "Still... I'm glad we're able to be here together. I wanted to give my first Valentine's Day chocolate... directly to you."

"You mean a lot to me too, you know?" Akira told Makoto.

"It makes me happy to hear you say that. I've been studying hard and I'm looking to apply to law school. My dream of becoming a police commissioner remains the same. I know I can do it... especially with your help," Makoto told Akira.

" You got this, honor student," Akira teased her.

"You know that's not me," she shook her head, "Uh, can I sit next to you..." Akira nodded and Makoto got up and sat next to Akira, "So... what I really wanted to talk to you about it... you're going back next month, right? What will happen... to us?"

"Nothing will change," Akira placed his arm around her.

"Yes," she leaned on his shoulder, "Yes you're right. You know, there was a lot I wanted to say, but none of it matters now that we're here together. After all, that waiting, living in different places doesn't seem like such a big deal. And... I've been waiting for you for so long. I'm not asking too much... am I?" Makoto asked.

"Nope," Akira smiled.

"I want to…" Makoto sat back up, "I want to be with you tonight."

"Does that mean you want to have sex?" Akira boldly asked.

"…..yes…." she softly spoke and blushed.

"I want that too," Akira stood up and placed his hands on Makoto's face, planting a long and sloppy kiss on her face.

"Take me," Makoto cried out as Akira pulled her in as close as possible and kissed her again and again, "Take all of me!"

"Oh Makoto!" Akira cried out.

"Oh Akira!" Makoto cried back as the two continued to kiss and make their way to the attic.

Ryuji: So you didn't really mean what you said yesterday, right?

Ann: Not really

Ryuji: Not really!? Ann I'm not small. I measured myself out and I'm halfa cm below the national average! That's in the range of average!

Ann: If it's any comfort you have a lot of girth…

Ryuji: Damn straight girl. You doing anything today? Figured we could get some crepes and burn of some calories with some sex!

Ann: I need some sugar

Ryuji: I got some sugar right here for you Ann. Plus I got something salty to go with that sweetness.

Ann: Yummy

Ryuji: Trust me after tonight you're gonna feel like a crepe.

Ann: What?

Ryuji: I mean you're gonna be stuffed with a nice white filling! I'm so effin hard right now! I should send a pic…

Ann: You still have to wear a condom Ryuji

Ryuji: God damn it can't I just do it one time? I wanna feel like a man! Plus it dulls the feeling.

Yusuke: I would side with Ryuji on this issue. It is in our nature to want to spread our genes and thus the ultimately pleasure in life would be to release oneself into another person

Ann: Yusuke what the hell are you doing in our chat?

Futaba: LOL! This is the group chat you idiots! Nice dirty talk! NOT!

Haru: I think it's very romantic that the two of them try to flirt with each other.

Ann: STOP

Akira: This is hilarious Top K

Futaba: *TOPKEK

Akira: TOPKEK

Makoto: I agree that this is quite embarrassing

Akira: Enjoy the crepes guys.

Ann: This is got to be the most embarrassing moment I have ever experienced in my life

Ryuji: Thank god I didn't send a pic.

Futaba: Send the pic! This is Ann BTW

Yusuke: I too would like to see Ryuji's aroused penis

Ryuji: Dude WTF?

Yusuke: I've only seen it in a non-aroused state. That's enough to draw you naked, but an aroused male sex organ is something that not many artists are willing to tackle. It's a very controversial form of art to display the male model fully aroused. Not to mention the effort needed to maintain such a height of arousal.

Ryuji: WTF! I'm leaving and deleting this chat now.

Ann: I agree, everyone should delete this chat.

Futaba: Implying it isn't already achieved on my computer

Ann: Then delete the archive!

Futaba: No way!

Ann: Then I'll delete it myself!

Futaba: Implying you can access my computer! This baby is encrypted with Post-Quantum encryption schemes! No getting past this baby!

Yusuke: Futaba seems to be mad at your implications. You should apologize.

Ann: Goodbye

Akira: LOLOLOLOL!

Futaba: Those two got issues… why outta every desert would someone wanna be a crepe? Why not ice cream or a soda popsicle or pushpop?

Haru: I'd like to be a small cup of orange sorbet served as a palette cleanser between the first and second entrée

Akira: You get two entrées at a restraint?

Haru: You've never been to a several course meal? Perhaps we could all go together before you leave. It's quite the experience.

Makoto: Akira could you… stop chatting?

Akira: Right, sorry! Gotta go!

Futaba: LOL those two are so DOIN IT!

Yusuke: Perhaps Ryuji will no longer be the alpha male? Morgana and I will continue to be the beta providers for the group

Futaba: More like OMEGA!

Yusuke: ?

Haru: You can't find a nice artsy girl to date Yusuke? Art museums are a great place to meet women!

Yusuke: Bah. Women who know NOTHING about the art culture. I've yet to meet a woman who matches my own standards

Futaba: You got issues man.

"Thanks for the crepes," Ann smiled as Ryuji and her walked back from their Valentine's Day date.

"No problem Ann," Ryuji laughed as the two fast approached her house.

"Home sweet home," Ann walked towards the door as Ryuji let out a loud cough. Ann turned to see Ryuji looking away, whistling nonchalantly waiting for Ann, "Let me guess…"

"I mean it is Valentine's Day… I bought you crepes… chocolate and flowers…" he smiled, "I gotta hone my skills by the way…"

"…" Ann giggled, "Well when you put it like that," she unlocked the door, "Come on in Ryuji." She seductively pulled him in the by the arm and upstairs for a bountiful session of love making.

"Good morning," Sojiro smiled as he watched Makoto slowly walk down the creaky steps of the café, Makoto flinched as she did not expect Sojiro to be up so early and in the actual shop, "You're up early."

"Well… you know…" she blushed and brushed her hair, "I gotta… school and… stuff…" Makoto nervously began to walk towards the door, "Thanks for the… never mind…" she quickly shut the door and immediately bolted off towards the station. Sojiro continued to prepare the café as Akira finally stumbled his way down the stairs, dressed in his grey sweatpants and a black shirt as he pulled himself over to one of the bar stools.

"So…" Sojiro smirked.

"I haven't gotten an ounce of sleep," Akira smiled as he put his head down on the counter.

"Looking Cool Akira!" Morgana yelled from the nearby booth, "Was it good?"

"It was everything I thought it'd be and more," Akira chuckled as the door swung open, Ryuji stumbling in as well dressed in his yellow tanktop and shorts.

"It's Feburary and your dressed like that?" Sojiro watched Ryuji sit down next to Akira.

"I was up all night with Ann," Ryuji bragged.

"Akria was up all night with Makoto," Morgana told Ryuji.

"You and Makoto finally made the leap huh?" Ryuji slammed his fists down, "WE DID IT MAN! WE'RE FINALLY MEN!" Ryuji and Akira high fived with what little energy they had left, "All three of us men, not including the cat, are the same."

"I wouldn't say that…" Sojiro shook his head.

"Sure we've all had women!" Ryuji explained.

"You two have had A woman," he told them, "But congratulations regardless," he walked over to the fridge and pulled out two bottles, "I probably shouldn't do this, it wouldn't be proper as a guardian, but since you two entered adulthood I figured you could each use a beer as a symbol of maturity."

"Nice!" Akira grabbed it with Ryuji and they both instantly downed it.

"…" Sojiro watched the two, "Okay then I wasn't expecting that."

"Hey man, can I crash on your couch?" Ryuji got off the stool, now slightly drunk from his exhaustion and the single beer as he climbed the stairs before either of them answered, "Thanks."

"He really shouldn't sleep on that couch," Akira stood up, "Not after tonight. Well I'm off to bed, see you this afternoon," Akira got up and followed Ryuji up the stairs.

"What do you think cat?" Sojiro looked at Morgana.

"I think that Ryuji's gonna get a wicked case of pink eye from that couch!" he snorted.

"Hmmm…" Sojiro nodded in agreement despite not knowing what was said, as Morgana continued to laugh.


	9. Chapter 9

"I have to say that this has probably been the greatest year of my life," Akira happily chirped to the rest of the gang as he sat back down in his seat. It was early spring in Japan, and after what was one of the most eventful years of Akira Kurusu's life, it was finally time to go back home to his old life.

"You said it man," Ryuji smiled, "What was your favorite part?"

"Hmm?" Akira looked at his friend.

"You know, like out of everything that happened what was the one thing you liked more than anything?" Ryuji asked him again, "Like, if you could pick ONE DAY out of all the days this past year to relieve what day would it be?"

"…" Akira thought about it for a minute, "Maybe the trip to the beach… or DestinyLand…"

"I would hope not DestinyLand…" Haru's face grew sad.

"Oh no!" Akira realized what he said, "I certainly don't want to relive THAT…" Akira looked back at her, "I got it, if I could pick one day it'd be the day I left Juvie and came back to LeBlanc and we had that party."

"That's pretty late in the game man," Ryuji told him, "What about when we formed the group at that massive buffet? I ate so much food that day when I got home I ran right to the bath-"

"Whatever you're gonna say I don't want to hear about it Ryuji," Makoto cringed as she tightly gripped the wheel.

"What about the time you blackmailed us to take down a Yakuza boss?" Ryuji mocked her, "Or the time Yusuke blackmailed Ann into stripping for him!"

"It wasn't stripping Ryuji!" Ann looked back at him.

"I was simply going to draw an elegant nude portrait portraying what I considered to be the peak female form," Yusuke entered the conversation.

"Not that you have already…" Morgana softly said to himself such that no one else could hear him.

"Isn't it weird that you're dating a woman who you first met because she was blackmailing you?" Futaba asked.

"I think its weirder Ann's dating a guy who has burped in her face more than a dozen times because it's 'funny'." Akira looked at Ann.

"It is funny!" Ryuji defended his actions.

"You've got a strange definition of funny," Makoto sighed. The group continued to talk as they eventually pulled up to the toll booths Makoto was talking about before when Ryuji tried to exit the vehicle while in motion. She merged into the lane to her right, pulling up to the small machine at the entrance to the red and white bar, "Huh?" Makoto began digging around in her purse.

"What is it?" Ann asked.

"My coin purse… I forgot it at home!" she began to dig through her purse with both hands as she kept the brake pressed down.

"How much is it?" Akira asked.

"400 yen," Makoto told them all, "And I pulled into the exact change, cash only lane because I thought I had my coin purse."

"That's okay, we'll just back out and-" as Ann talked another car pulled up right behind them, locking them into place as well as another car pulling in behind that car, "Uh-oh…"

"It's 400 yen! Someone's gotta have 400 yen on them, right?" Makoto looked back at them as everyone began to dig through their respective money caddies.

"I got… 37 yen! Everything else is too big," Ann sighed, "If we give it a larger bill what happens?"

"It'll just eat it," Makoto took the coins from Ann.

"I got nothing but large bills," Akira looked in his wallet, "Sorry"

"50 yen!" Ryuji handed a coin to Makoto.

"I'm broke!" Futaba told them.

"I'm a cat!" Morgana shouted, "I can't carry money!"

"I have 7…" Yusuke pulled his hand out of his pocket.

"7… hundred?" Makoto looked back.

"No, 7," he held his hand out.

"I got 300!" Haru exclaimed, "I was worried I didn't have any small bills on me!"

"Great," Makoto gathered all the change and began to put it into the machine, "Uh-oh."

"Now what?" Akira looked over the seat to the machine.

"We're 6 yen short," Makoto sighed, "Why did I pull into the exact change lane?" As she put her hand to her temple several of the cars behind them began to honk as the group tried to figure out what to do.

"Can't we just explain to the other drivers what happened?" Haru looked back to see ten cars now piling up behind them.

"Eff!" Ryuji exclaimed as he punched open the sun roof and jumped onto the seat, "HEY MAN WE'RE SHORT! JUST HOLD ON!" he was yelling as the other drivers began to honk even louder.

"Morgana, can you find any change under the seats?" Akira asked, "Everyone start looking! We gotta get outta here." The entire crew began to scramble, looking for any sort of change at that point.

"I think I got something!" Haru pulled her hand from between the seats, "EWWW!" she cried, "It's moldy gum!"

"I found a button!" Yusuke proclaimed, "Why would someone throw away such a valuable item? This matches the shirt that is missing a button. Another piece of clothing that can go back into rotation without having to buy the button!"

"Not helping Yusuke!" Makoto was digging through the glove box trying to find something to use.

"I got it!" Morgana hopped up from under the seats with a small coin in his mouth, "5 yen!"

"Great!" Makoto quickly threw it into the toll machine, "1 short! We can do it guys, find something."

"Hey man eff you we're 1 short!" Ryuji yelled at the driver behind them as he began to roll down his window and popped his head out.

"Get going you fuckin punks!" the man yelled.

"Hey man we're 1 yen effin short! Just give us a goddamn minute!" Ryuji yelled, "So unless you got a single yen coin in there you can't effin wait you shithead!"

"Ryuji calm down," Akira tried pulling his friend back into the car.

"You're lucky I don't come over there and kick your ass you dyed hair snot nose little brat!" he yelled back at Ryuji.

"Bring it on!" Ryuji began to climb out of the car sunroof.

"RYUJI!" Ann yelled as Akira began to hold Ryuji back.

"Oh wait I have a single yen in my back pocket," Yusuke calmly remembered, "I was saving it for buying that button needed for my shirt." As he pulled the coin out Futaba quickly grabbed the coin and threw it to Makoto he quickly passed the coin into the machine, reaching the needed amount of money to open the gate. Makoto put the pedal to the metal and sped through the gate, Ryuji still arguing with the man even as they sped away.

"Yeah screw you dude! You effin cocksu-" Ryuji yelled as the back of his head made contact with the bottom of the thin metal sign above the gate entrance, causing him to cry out in pain as he fell back into the car as he held his head in pain, "Mother of- AH!"

"Stop being stupid Ryuji!" Ann slapped him as he fell over in pain.

"Thank god that's over," Makoto let out a gasp of relief, "How much further to your house?"

"About 20 minutes," Akria smiled, "I can't believe I'm heading home, felt like forever since I've been there. Wonder if mom and dad are…" Akira stopped smiling.

"What?" Ann looked over.

"It's… nothing…" Akira crossed his arms.

"Tell us!" Futaba demanded.

"It's just… my parents…" Akira rubbed his eyes, "After the whole incident and before I got sent away they we're… going through some issues and I think I was the straw that broke the camel's back."

"Like… divorce?" Ann asked.

"Yeah," he looked away, "I haven't talked to my parents much this year and the few times they have called they've never been together on the same phone call or even mentioned each other."

"If they got divorced I'm sure they would've told you!" Ryuji tried to comfort his friend as he continued to rub the back of his head, "That'd be effed up man."

"You're right," Akira sat up, "I'm just paranoid."

"Well whatever happens we're all here for you," Makoto looked back, "From here on out I have a good feeling it's all gonna be smooth sailing for once in our lives!" Makoto gripped the wheel.

_BANG!_

"Shit what was that?" Ryuji went wide eyed.

"It sounded like a gunshot, did someone get shot?" Yusuke felt his torso for a wound.

"Inari's injured!" Futaba cried!

"That would be red paint I left on from the body painting seminar I visited," he pointed out the weird symbol on his torso, "Supposedly it is meant to bring good luck to-"

"That wasn't a gunshot!" Haru pointed to the front of the car as several thick clouds of black smoke began to rise from the hood of the car.

"Ah!" Makoto began to slow down, "It broke down again," she pulled over to the side of the road and flicked on the emergency brake lights as the smoke grew thicker, "Morgana…"

"I'm on it!" Akira opened the door for Morgana.

"Let's go guys," Ryuji got out of the car.

"What are you doing?" Morgana asked.

"Helping you repair the car," Ryuji told him, "The four of us."

"None of you know a thing about repairing cars!" Morgana scoffed as Akira walked out as well.

"What if you need some heavy lifting done? Like what if you gotta take the engine out or something?" Ryuji asked him.

"You don't-" Morgana was dumbfounded, "Whatever, just do what I say and don't touch anything!"

"Great! Yusuke, let's go," Ryuji looked back at Ryuji.

"I shall stay here," Yusuke told him.

"Come on Yusuke," Ryuji grabbed Yusuke by the arm, "Let's let the ladies just sit here and relax while us guys fix up the car."

"You know I could probably be of more assistance than Yusuke. I've built tons of computers and a lot of those skills are-" Futaba explained before being cut off by Ryuji.

"Just sit here and leave the hard stuff to us Futaba, just relax!" Ryuji closed the door.

"What an idiot," Futaba sighed, "He must be really good in the sack if you've been with him this long Ann."

"Futaba!" Makoto looked back at her, "Not appropriate!"

"Is he really good with his tongue or something cause I've seen Akira do his thing and he's not very stylish or graceful… or big," Futaba remarked as the car erupted into inappropriate arguing over how Futaba knew these details. Outside the men got to work on the car.

"Alright Morgana just tell us what we gotta do!" Ryuji asked as Akira was helping Morgana get his tools.

"Like I said don't touch anything!" Morgana took a wrench in his tail.

"…" Yusuke watched Ryuji.

"And another thing please don't-" Morgana walked with Akira from behind the car with the tool bag to see Ryuji taking his shirt off, "What are you doing?"

"I don't wanna get my shirt wet from all the sweat!" He walked over to the front of the car and popped the hood.

"Did Ryuji take his shirt off?" Makoto looked out the window at Ryuji, "Why did he do that? It's very chilly today. He's going to catch a cold."

"Knowing him he's trying to show off his muscles for all of you," Ann sighed as she went back to her phone, "Is he flexing?"

"Yes he is… idiot," Futaba and Haru watched Ryuji begin to do overacting stretches that showed off his built form.

"He is quite… muscular," Haru blushed.

"Yeah man you gotta get a good stretch in before you start heavy lifting," Ryuji watched Yusuke walk away to the car and sit down on the nearby guardrail with his notebook and pens in hand, "Yusuke?"

"He doesn't wanna be bothered idiot," Morgana jump up on the car, "Let's see here… simple fix," Morgana squeezed himself into the space next to the engine, "I'll have it fixed in 10 minutes or so!"

"Wait, so no heavy lifting?" Ryuji asked.

"No Ryuji," Morgana told him.

"So I popped my shirt off for nothing? Can't you break something so I can lift something heavy to show off my muscles? It'll get Ann all riled up!"

"Shut up Ryuji," Morgana insulted him.

"You shut the hell up!" Ryuji yelled back at him.

"Are you two ever going to get along?" Akira asked.

"I wouldn't count on it," Morgana buried his head back into the hood.

"It's not my problem that he's a cat and I am dating a girl he likes. He's had months to get over it!" Ryuji defended himself yet again, "Not to mention… I don't know… YOU SHOT ME!"

"Is there anything you can do to bond together?" Akira asked, "Dinner? A movie? A video game? A mutual admiration of Ann maybe?"

"Not likely," Morgana coughed as he inhaled some of the thick black smog pouring out from the engine block.

"I got some erotic photos of Ann I can show you all," Ryuji muttered.

"What!?" Morgana popped his head outta the hood.

"That's interesting," Yusuke placed his hand to his chin, turning to face Ryuji as Akira stood in his place stunned at the offer.

"You serious?" Akira asked.

"Yeah, you guys are my buds and I'll show you guys some of the photos if you wanted, you just gotta keep it a secret and if you guys get photos from your girls you gotta show me some time," Ryuji smiled at Akira, "I wanna see what Makoto's got under that uniform."

"Makoto isn't the type of woman who does that sort of thing," Akira told them all.

"But if she did…" Ryuji smiled again.

"I guess I'd show you…" Akira confessed.

"It's not like I'm giving you the photos!" Ryuji told them all, "Plus you've basically seen Ann naked except for the bikini… so let's just remove the bikini from the picture!"

"So… photos?" Morgana asked like an eager little child, "You're not like… messing with me or anything? Right?"

"…Just follow me," he walked over to the hood as the rest followed him, "Just pretend we're working on the car," Ryuji pulled his phone out and opened it discretely, the girls view blocked thanks to the hood, "Let me just find them," he started to scroll through his photo gallery, "There's a few… racy ones in here you guys can't see." He pulled the phone in close to himself so they couldn't see.

"Racy?" Yusuke asked.

"You know like high res and up close… and it's very dirty with messages written on the screen and shit," he continued to look at his phone, "So here's some she sent me when shopping for underwear," he scrolled through photo after photo of Ann in different types of underwear of different colors and styles.

"Look at those stockings," Ryuji whistled as he scrolled to the next photo, "Nice ass shot in a thong…"

"Oh wow!" Akira was blushing, "She sends all these to you?"

"I mean I send her a lot of stuff too," he laughed, "It's effin hot as shit! You and Makoto never really…"

"Nope," Akira still had his eyes glued to the phone.

"Well it's your lost," he scrolled to the next photo as Morgana stared intensely at Ryuji's phone with his mouth agape, "Now these here… these are my favorite photos. I have backups on my computer cause they're so damn good." He showed them a photo of Ann topless in a pair of baggy sweatpants in front of her bathtub with the water running.

"So that's what they look like…" Yusuke stared, "The areolas are just as I imagined they would be for a woman of her caliber."

"Whaddya think Morgana?" Ryuji looked over, "Pretty cool, right?"

"…" Morgana couldn't even speak as Ryuji scrolled to the next photo with Ann Bending over and pulling down her pants and panties towards the camera and exposing her rear.

"She's tan all over huh," Akira asked.

"Yes she is… all over," he smirked and scrolled to the next photo of Ann completely naked posing like a pinup model on the railing of the tub.

"Look at those curves!" Akira's eye widened.

"She's hairless… and I'm so hairy," Morgana gasped and Ryuji scrolled through the next half dozen photos of Ann in the tub posing and making kissy faces to the camera. Everything about her screamed sex and she knew how to show it off.

"This is my absolute favorite photo," Ryuji told them as it was Ann soaking wet, completely nude and standing in front of a body mirror.

"I can see," Yusuke spoke, "The glistening effect of the water on her body, the highlighted figure, the erect nipples…" Yusuke stared, "That is something I could paint over and over again."

"Alright that's enough," Ryuji put his phone away, "The rest get really dirty and I don't wanna show you guys those… and if any of you say a word to anyone about this I'll kick your ass and deny it."

"I get it, mum's the word," Akira swore.

"I accept the terms," Yusuke also swore.

"Morgana?" Akira looked at Morgana who was back in the hood of the car.

"Thank you… Ryuji…" Morgana let out heavenly sigh, "She is more beautiful than I could have ever imagined."

"Ann looks way better with hair down," Akira told him.

"I tell her that all the damn time and she just responds with 'No! It's too much work to take care up let down Ryuji!'" Ryuji mocked Ann's nagging, "I say let em dangle!"

"That's not what that expression is used for," Yusuke sat back down to draw.

"I feel kinda bad now for looking at those photos of Lady Ann," Morgana grew dower.

"It's a guy thing Morgana, guys talk about banging chicks and how awesome it is and show the stuff! Ryuji defended his actions, "It's harmless guy fun. The photos are on my phone, they're in your head and only your head, no one else saw them, it's absolutely fine!"

"What if Ann did that to you?" Akira asked.

"Ann wouldn't do that to me," Ryuji told him, "Girls aren't into that kind of gossip," as the others rolled their eyes at the stupidity of Ryuji's statement.

"Car's fixed!" Morgana proclaimed after a few more minutes of waiting.

"Great, let's get you home man!" Ryuji grabbed his shirt and jacket, "All aboard!"

* * *

"And it'll be the second one coming up on the right," Akira pointed as Makoto made a right turn. The crew all looked out the right side of the car as they pulled up to Akira's small quaint little residence, "And here we are… home sweet home," he smiled.

"Man how far are you from the beach?" Ryuji asked.

"A few blocks, you can walk to it easily, you guys should come out for a few days this summer," he casually pointed over his shoulder in the direction to the beach, "There's a snow cone place right up next to the beach that has the BEST snow cones you will ever eat."

"I love snow cones!" Futaba smiled, "Is there a sushi place near here?"

"Nah, the only sushi you're gonna find around here is that prepackaged garbage from that Junes department store on the other side of town," he opened the car door, the rest of the crew getting out behind him, "Alright Morgana," Akira grabbed Morgana, "Time to see your new home." He walked inside as the others waited outside for their final goodbyes.

"So…" Ryuji looked at the others.

"I guess this is… goodbye," Haru frowned as Futaba wiped a few tears away from her face.

"I'm gonna miss him so much," Makoto's voice cracked.

"Hey," Ann walked over and put her hand on her shoulder to show that it was going to be okay. The group waited for several more minutes until Akira came back outside with Morgana in his hands.

"So I… got some uh… bad news," Akira approached them.

"What?" Makoto asked.

"My parents… they don't want a cat hanging around the house," Akira looked down at Morgana, "So Morgana can't stay here…"

"Really? Why don't your parents want a cat?" Ryuji asked.

"I don't know, but I know I can convince them that Morgana won't be an issue, it'll… it'll just take some time to wear them down, you know?" he explained.

"So then what happens to him?" Haru walked over to Morgana and scratched his ears.

"I guess I'm homeless again…" Morgana cried, "I don't wanna go back on the streets! I get all smelly!"

"I guess one of us can take him…" Ryuji told Akira.

"Oh hell no!" Morgana hissed, "I'm not staying with Ryuji!"

"Like I'd let you in my house!" Ryuji yelled.

"So who wants to take him?" Akira held Morgana out.

"Maybe… Lady Ann could-" Morgana looked at Ann as Ryuji angrily glared at Morgana.

"That's… probably not the best idea," Ann scratched her head and shrugged.

"It'd make more sense if your girlfriend took it," Yusuke told them.

"Is Sae gonna be okay with a cat running around the place?" Akira asked, "I don't know the pet requirements for your place."

"We can have pets and I'm sure Sae would be fine with it," Makoto told him, "It's just… a pet is a lot of work and I have-" Morgana and Akira both frowned, "But I suppose Morgana is self-sufficient enough to live with… alright." Makoto grabbed Morgana out of Akira's hands.

"Well," Akira looked at all his friends, "Goodbye for now."

"Ah come on man, bring it on in," Ryuji bro hugged his best friend.

"I'll miss you!" Futaba quickly jumped on the two as everyone else quickly joined in on one final group hug.

"I'll miss you all too," he nodded as the group began to climb back in the car.

"…" Makoto approached Akira.

"You take care of Morgana and if he misbehaves just let me know," Akira laughed.

"I will…" Makoto smiled.

"Just kiss her already you wimp!" Ryuji blurted out of the car.

"…" Makoto blushed as Akira went in for a kiss in front of all of his friends.

"Now grab her titty!" Ryuji shouted as Ann punched him in the shoulder.

Akira broke the kiss laughing, "I love you."

"I love you too… call me, " Makoto turned away as Akira watched her climb into the driver's seat, waving goodbye as they backed around and slowly drove away from Akira's place.

"He's gone…" Haru looked down.

"I mean it's not like he won't visit," Yusuke remarked, "not to mention we all have each other."

"Except for Makoto and Haru who are probably gonna leave soon too," Futaba remembered that the third year students had graduated, "Then next year Ryuji and Ann and Yusuke will be gone… and I'll be all by myself…"

"Please, it's not like I'm going anywhere anytime soon," Ryuji told her, "I ain't got much for a future." The crew sat in the car quietly as they took it all in, their leader was gone and soon they would all almost go their separate ways over the next few years. Would their friendships survive? Would their relationships survive? What would happen? Nobody knew as they drove off towards the skyline of Tokyo and into a brand new night.

* * *

_Ann: Ryuji._

_Ryuji: What?_

_Ann: I was wondering if you wanted to come over for dinner._

_Ryuji: Sure. Where we going out to eat? I vote Ramen._

_Ann: No. My parents are home and I want you to meet them._

_Ryuji: Meet your parents? I don't know, that's kinda a big step…_

_Ann: Come on Ryuji. I met your mom and it went just fine! Besides if we're going to be together for a long time you gotta meet them._

_Ryuji: Okay fine fine fine. Jeez… Also after dinner could we do some exercises to burn off some calories_

_Ann: My parents just got back Ryuji, so no we can't do it with them in the house._

_Ryuji: You know it's been like a month since we've banged last, right? I haven't had a proper release since Valentine's Day!_

_Ann: It's not that simple Ryuji! We have to find a proper time and place to do it so that we don't get caught. I had to sneak out of your house on Christmas so your mom didn't catch us together! Unless you can think of a non-public place to do it you just gotta wait!_

_Ryuji: LeBlanc's Attic!_

_Ann: You wanna do it in the attic where our friend slept?_

_Ryuji: I mean it's empty and there's a bed that has been broken in!_

_Ann: Do you even have a key to get into LeBlanc after hours?_

_Ryuji: Well no, but I'm sure if we explain to Boss._

_Ann: You wanna tell Boss that you want to have sex with your girlfriend in the attic upstairs and therefore he should give you a key so we can do it?_

_Ryuji: :(_

_Ann: Just get your ass over here for dinner_

_Ryuji: Meh, fine Ann!_

* * *

" _It's just her parents man_ ," Ryuji took a deep breath as he stood outside Ann's place, " _She met your mom! It was fine… other than all the embarrassing stories. Shit man I can't do this. No! I can't do this!_ " Ryuji internally panicked back and forth before taking one last breath and knocking on the door.

"Oh hey," Ann opened the door up, "Glad you showed up. For a minute there I thought you were gonna be a no show."

"Yeah… almost… heh," he nervously chuckled as he stepped inside the house.

"Mom, Dad, this is Ryuji Sakamoto, my boyfriend," she led him by the arm to the living room where Ann's parents sat. Her dad was clearly the holder of the non-Japanese genes with his perfectly kept blonde hair

"'Sup!" Ryuji smiled at them.

"…" Ann's parents stared at each other in complete silence as Ryuji didn't know what to say, he looked at Ann who was still smiling and watching her parents stare at each other.

"Annabelle, may we speak with you… outside?" her mother stood up along with her father.

"Annabelle?" Ryuji looked at her, "Your full name is Annabelle?"

"Shut up!" Ann elbowed him as she went away with her parents, leaving Ryuji completely alone in their living room. Naturally, he wondered what he did to cause this reaction and decided to use some of those sneaking skills he picked up as a Phantom Thief to quietly walk towards Ann and her parents who had stepped outside via the backdoor. Approaching the door, he pressed his body against the wall, listening to what they were talking about.

"It's not like that!" Ann argued, "I love him! He loves me!"

"You're dating him to get under our skin," Ann's mother cried, "After all we've done for you and this is how you repay us?"

"He's not like that! He's a good kid, just misunderstood!" Ann told them causing her father to laugh.

"Of course, he's 'The Bad Boy' whose misunderstood and has a heart of gold," he joked, "He comes from a broken family and that's why he slacks and looks like that."

" _Damn…_ " Ryuji stepped away from the wall to take it all in. When it came down to it, everything about him still screamed that he was a no-good punk: his hair, the yellow tank top and shorts he wore without a belt, the beat-up old shoes. All he needed was a motorcycle and leather coat and he would be the bad boy from all the movies. Ryuji pressed his head back against the wall near the door to listen in.

"Annabelle, I know that you hate the idea of an arranged marriage…" her mother comforted her.

" _Arranged Marriage!?"_ Ryuji thought to himself, " _Shit man this is just like Haru's situation_!"

"I'm not marrying some total stranger!" she yelled.

"Kenshin is not a stranger! He's been a family friend since you were in diapers," her father yelled at her, "He is attending one of the most pristine universities Japan has and plans on becoming a neurosurgeon! What's Ryuji planning on becoming, a fry cook?"

"He…" Ann tried to defend Ryuji, "He tries… very hard to…"

"We just want what's best for you Ann and it's not Ryuji," her mother sternly told Ann.

"Dammit," Ryuji softly whimpered as a tear came to his eye, because he realized that deep down Ann's parents were right. Ryuji wasn't going to achieve anything with his life, he had poor grades and no skills or hobbies outside of working out or running and it's not like he was anywhere near the caliber of a professional athlete. Maybe before the injury, but now he couldn't achieve that even if he tried. As Ryuji walked away from the kitchen, he wiped a couple more tears away from his face and headed out the front door, ready to go home and think about what really was best for Ann.

"Ryuji where you going?" Ann walked out the door, "Dinner is almost ready and…" Ann stopped as she saw Ryuji standing with clenched fists as he hung his head down with a scrunched up face, "Ryuji?"

"Arghhhh," Ryuji turned to Ann, "Ann we… we gotta," he took a few deep breaths.

"What's wrong?" Ann asked.

"We need to break up!" he managed to get the words out.

"What!?" she was taken back, "What are you talking about Ryuji."

"I heard what your parents were saying and their right. You deserve so much more than a punk like me. Whatever made me think I could be with a girl like you? I'm not gonna accomplish anything in my pathetic life, but you can go so far with modeling and acting and everything! Fuck! That Kenshin dude sounds like he'd be better for you, so you should just marry him and we can end it right her Ann! We don't have to be friends anymore!" Ryuji was crying with his eyes closed as tightly as he could.

"…" Ann looked at Ryuji as he let out a couple of soft cries as he tried to break up with her.

"Just go back inside and-" as he pointed to the house he felt a sharp pain enter the left side of his face, causing his eyes to shoot open. In front of him stood Ann who had delivered a huge slap that almost sent him flying across the street from the intense raw power. Instead, he simply tumbled over into the gutter of the street as he stopped crying from emotional pain and switched to crying from the physical pain.

"You… dumbass!" she sat down on the street next to him.

"What?" he managed to put himself back together.

"You think YOUR gonna break up with ME?" she looked at him, "If our relationship ever ends it's gonna be because of ME!"

"Ann I'm serious I'm… I'm breaking up with you," he picked himself up and sat down next to her.

"You think I care what my parents want? I'm not marrying that nerdy weirdo Kenshin because my parents want me to! I want you Ryuji!" she told him, "You're my boyfriend! We've been dating for over half a year now! So here's what's gonna happen Ryuji," she grabbed him by the shirt and began to shake him, "You and I are gonna stay together and we're gonna move in together someday and then you're gonna propose to me and then when I'm ready you're gonna put a baby inside me, hell maybe even more babies! Then we'll raise them right and retire and die together, because I love you Ryuji Sakamoto and no one is gonna prevent me from being with you ever!" she yelled at him as tears flew from her own eyes, "Got it you moron?"

"…" Ryuji stared at her in silence watching her almost hyperventilate from the anger she held, as some time past with no answer she began to shake him, "Yeah! Okay! Yeah Yeah! Marriage and babies and dying together and all that effin shit!"

"Good!" she let go of him, "Now get in that house and eat dinner with me and my parents and then afterwards you're gonna sneak upstairs into my room and stay as quiet as possible until my parents go to bed and then I'll come up and I'm going to fuck your brains out!" she pointed at the door, "Understood?"

"Yes ma'am!" he stood up straight.

"And one more thing!" she grabbed him and gave him the most passionate kiss the two every experienced, "If I ever… ever… EVER hear you call me Annabelle or tell our friends to call me that I will end you Ryuji."

"No problem! Ann it is!" he ran into the house both afraid and aroused.

"Effin Moron…" she muttered to herself as she followed him inside.

* * *

"What a day," Makoto opened the door to her apartment as Morgana hopped out of her bag.

"WOAH!" Morgana ran around, "This place is amazing! It's so much nicer than Akira's house or that attic… maybe doesn't smell as nice as LeBlanc, but still…" Morgana ran back over to Makoto, "So this is our new home!"

"For now," Makoto put her purse down and took her coat off, "Until Akira convinces his parents to let you in his house."

"But what about… you know, AFTER?" Morgana asked.

"After what?" Makoto asked.

"After Akira graduates high school he'll get into the same college as you! Then you two will live her together, right?" Morgana asked. Makoto realized that was a real possibility. The school she was attending is commutable by train and she and Sae planned on Makoto living her for the time of her schooling and once Akira graduated he could live her, maybe even pay rent to Sae so her sister's load wouldn't be so bad.

"Maybe," she walked over to the fridge and grabbed a small bottle of water to drink. As she did the door opened as Sae slugged into the room with a laptop bag and briefcase in each hand as she dragged her feet over to the table and threw her things down.

"Hard day?" Makoto asked, "Do you want me to make dinner?"

"No Makoto I'm not hungry," she pulled her laptop out of her bag, "I've gotta about 5 different things to do tonight so I would appreciate it if you gave me a little space."

"Okay," Makoto walked towards her room, "Come on Morgana."

"Morgana?" Sae looked over to see Morgana laid out on the floor licking his crotch nonchalantly, "What's he doing here Makoto?" Sae asked in a demanding manner.

"Akira's parents wouldn't let him stay at their house… I told him I would watch Morgana," Makoto told her sister, "Please sis, it'll only be for a few weeks. I promise!"

"…" she sighed, "Fine, but you have to feed it and change its liter box and-" Sae started listing off chores for Makoto.

"Liter Box?!" Morgana stopped licking, "I'll have you know I'm potty trained!"

"He says he's… potty trained," Makoto told Sae as Morgana continued to meow.

"Can you please tell him to be quiet?" Sae asked as she looked at her computer, "If the neighbors complain about a loud cat we'll have to get rid of him."

"Get rid of!?" Morgana croaked as he quickly dove into Makoto's room, "You'll never take me alive!" Makoto shook her head as she retired to her room with Morgana to let her sister get some work done.

"…" Morgana looked around Makoto's room. The room was very empty other than a study desk with several books on it, the bed, a closet, and a few awards and honors hanging from the wall, "Where's all the posters of cute boys and movies and stuffed animals?"

"I don't have any," Makoto sat down at her desk and grabbed a small little book from the top of the shelf. As she opened it up Morgana hopped up on the desk and placed his paw on the top of the book and forced it down on the desk.

"Morgana stop!" Makoto pushed him away, "I am trying to read."

"Aren't you tired… we should really go to bed!" Morgana told her.

"In a little bit, I just wanna read this chapter!" Makoto looked at Morgana.

"We did a lot today," Morgana walked over and sat on the book, "We should get some sleep!"

"No!" Makoto told him.

"Bed!" Morgana shouted.

"I said no!" Makoto tried pushing Morgana of the book as he dug his claws deep into the wood of the desk, "Stop it Morgana! You're scratching my desk!"

"I said it's time to go to bed!" Morgana scolded her.

"Sis!" Sae knocked on the door, "I told you to keep that cat quiet!"

"I know!" Makoto yelled through the door, "It's just… damn it Morgana!"

"I'll be so loud Sae's gonna be so mad at you…" Morgana began meowing as loud as possible.

"Quiet!" Makoto tried to hush him.

"Makoto!" Sae knocked on the door again.

"Stop Morgana," Makoto forced her hands over Morgana's mouth as he quickly wiggled free from her light grasp.

"I'll be quiet if you go to bed," he told her.

"Fine, I'll go to bed!" she gave in, "It's okay sis! He'll be quiet now! I promise," she put the book away as Morgana hopped over on the bed. As Makoto approached her laundry hamper she began to unbutton her shirt when she stopped suddenly at the middle most buttons, "Uh… Morgana?"

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Could you… you know… close your eyes or…" Makoto blushed.

"You can change in front of me. I don't care," Morgana smiled, "I've seen Akira naked so many times I've lost count! Besides if we're gonna live together with Akira you're gonna have to get use to me being around… I promise I won't say a word to anyone. If it makes you feel better I'm naked all the time! HAHA!"

"…" Makoto continue to unbutton her clothes as she reached over to change into her sleeping attire.

"I must say you really got a great nude body! It's almost as good as Lady Ann's!" Morgana watched Makoto's naked figure as she quickly threw her clothes on.

"Morgana!" Makoto walked over and lightly slapped him over the head, "Don't do that! Wait- how do you know what Ann looks like naked?"

"Uh…" Morgana blushed, "Let's uh… forget I said anything… okay…" Makoto sighed and climbed into bed as Morgana quickly climbed on top of Makoto's stomach.

"Morgana… I can't breathe!" Makoto coughed as the hot heavy weight of Morgana's body weighed down on her diaphragm.

"You'll be fine. Akira grew use to it and so will you," he told her as he closed his eyes, "Goodnight Makoto…"

"Ugh… goodnight," Makoto closed her eyes trying to get use to Morgana's presence. Needless to say this was going to be a rough transition for both of the Niijima sisters.

* * *

"Okay… this should be the place," Akira said aloud as he knocked on the door. It opened as Makoto appeared in the entrance.

"AKIRA!" Makoto quickly hugged him, planting a long kiss on his lips as Akira was taken by Makoto's bluntness, "You came!"

"Of course I came, I told you I would," Akira laughed as Makoto dragged him inside the apartment.

"These past three weeks without you… it's felt like an eternity!" Makoto continued to hug him, as she did she looked up to notice his hands were full, "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't even notice that you had bags!" she took his school bag from around his shoulder.

"I bought you these," he handed her the flowers he had in his left hand.

"Thank you…" she looked at the beautiful display of small red and pink flowers, a light aroma wafting in her face, "They're wonderful. Thank you," she went to find a vase to put the flowers in.

"I also brought sushi!" Akira raised his voice, "Where is Morgana? I know he loves sushi!"

"Sushi!?" Morgana ran out of the bathroom, "Akira!" he pounced from across the room on the plastic bag, "Gimme gimme gimme!"

"Calm down Morgana! There's enough for all of us," he picked Morgana up, "I missed you too, you know?"

"I missed you!" Morgana purred, "So what did your parents say?"

"After careful consideration they decided to let me bring you into our house… provided you don't make a mess."

"If anyone's the messy one it's you!" Morgana scoffed, "Makoto's room is so clean!"

"Only because you make me clean it," Makoto filled the vase with water, placing the flowers as a centerpiece on the table.

"Morgana hopefully didn't give you too much trouble," Akira remarked as he walked over to the fridge.

"I never realized how bossy Morgana was," Makoto replied, "Is your life really that disorganized that Morgana has to tell you when to sleep?"

"No, Morgana's just very attentive to maintaining a healthy sleep pattern," he placed the bag in the fridge and walked over behind Makoto, wrapping his hands around her waist and kissing her neck.

"Akira…" she blushed.

"I missed you," he moved his hands to her backside, "All of you…"

"Mmm…" she giggled as she turned around, kissing Akira with little pecks as she took his glasses off and placed them on the table beside them.

"Should we take this to the bedroom?" he asked.

"I… I would like that," she blushed as Akira lifted her into his arms and began to carry her into the bedroom.

"That's my sister's room, mine's that one," she pointed as Akira swung towards the other door. He pushed it open with his foot, tossing Makoto onto the bed as he laid down next to her, the two kissing as he plucked open the first button of Makoto's shirt.

"That's it…" Morgana purred, "Not too fast now…"

"Morgana?" Akira looked over to see Morgana perched on Makoto's desk watching the two of them.

"Could you please leave?" Makoto covered her face.

"Fine," he growled and walked out the door, Akira pushing the door shut before getting back to the bed with Makoto. Outside, Morgana sat down on the couch, pressing the power button on the remote, "Didn't even give me any sushi…"

* * *

"Come on!" Morgana sat in front of the door to Makoto's room for about an hour now, very little noises coming out from under the door other than the occasional giggle and moan. Morgana walked over to the door, lightly scratching on the door to send signals for them to hurry up as Morgana's stomach grumbled louder and louder. Inside the room, Akira and Makoto laid under the sheets in their arms.

"I love you," Makoto kissed Akira's cheek.

"I love you too," he snuggled closer to her.

"What do you love most about me?" she asked.

"You're intelligence," he told her.

"I meant physically," she corrected him.

"Then it'd have to be your butt," he softly laughed.

"My butt?" she gasped as Akira kissed her again.

"You have the best ass I've ever seen, it's nice and big and round," he moved his hands down Makoto's backside to give it a nice squeeze.

"In that case your butt would be my choice too," she let out soft moans as Akira's finger's dug into her flesh.

"What about my butt is special?" he laughed.

"The same features, plus it gives me something to… hold onto," she giggled.

"Hold onto?" he pondered, "Like how?"

"Here…" she pulled him onto of her, placing each hand on the same side of Akira's butt, "See, it's very convenient. If it weren't for your big butt I wouldn't know what to do with my hands," the two were blushing as Akira was in a perfect spot to go another round with Makoto. As he reached over to the desk towards his wallet loud scratches rand against the door.

"Morgana's impatient," she pushed him off to get out of bed.

"He can't wait another twenty minutes," Akira grabbed her arm.

"Twenty minutes will turn into two hours with you and besides my sister will be home soon and I don't think you want her to catch us in the middle of making love," she climbed out of bed and began to get dressed, Akira watching her swaying ass and hips the entire time as she pulled her panties up, "Hurry up!" she teased him and tossed his shirt towards him. The two teenagers got dressed as quickly as they could before opening the door.

"Finally!" Morgana yelled, "I'm starving!" Morgana walked into the room and gagged, "Ewww, this room smells like… like the gym locker room!" Akira devilishly smiled as the three of them walked over to the fridge, Akira pulling out the big bag of sushi as Akira and Makoto quickly dug into the sushi and devoured piece after piece as if it were their last meal, "HEY! Leave some for me!"

"Oh right," Akira reached into the bag and pulled a small dish of assorted sushi and tore the lid off, tossing the tray onto the ground for Morgana as the two young adults feasted away.

"This is delicious!" Makoto rejoiced, "Then again, I suppose intensive physically activities such as that can work up an appetite. Probably why Ryuji eats so much…"

"Because he and Ann bang a lot?" Akira joked.

"Stop being stupid," she scolded him, tossing a small bit of wasabi at him. Soon the two began flinging small chunks of sushi at each other until the whole dinner evolved into a flirty war were Akira held Makoto down against the table trying to force a piece of sushi that had fallen onto the nearby floor in her mouth. As the two laughed and screamed and giggled the door opened up to the apartment, causing Makoto to kick Akira back into the couch as Sae stumbled through the door.

"Makoto," she threw her bag down on the couch as she nearly tripped over herself.

"Sis have you been drinking?" Makoto gasped as Sae slurred her words, could barely stand, and was red in the face.

"It was my LAST DAY," she fell into a seat at the table and grabbed a piece of sushi, "In honor of taking down our CORRUPTED future Prime Ministeerrrrr… we all went out for a drinky!" she laughed, "And I got a phone number from a coworker," she became very feminine and pulled out a piece of paper to wave in their faces, "Seeee?" she shoved it into Akira's hand.

"It's not a real number," Akira broke her bubble, "555 is not a real extension, it's the fake one used in movies. I think you got pranked."

"Of FUCKIN course," she yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Sis!" Makoto was shocked at her sister's state.

"I can't get a man! This is just my luck. I'm gonna be a virgin forever!" she pushed the tray of sushi off the table, "Never even kissed a guy and I've been on 2 date in my whole life and they were BUSTS! Can you believe that! And here my little sister is already dating a guy! Well congrats Makoto," she began clapping, reminding Akira of a trained seal with her overacting motions, "I bet mom and dad would be so proud of you two!"

"How does someone go 24 years and never even kiss a guy?" Morgana laughed, "That's pathetic for a woman."

"Sis you clearly don't know what you are saying and need to go to bed!" Makoto tried pulling her sister out of bed.

"Why doesn't your boyfriend come over here and be with a REAL woman like me! A career woman who can spend money on you and be a real sugar mommy to you!" she stood up and immediately fell back into her chair, "Leave me alone. Can't you see that I wanna… I wanna…" Sae let out a big yawn, "I gotta sleep this off." She stood up with an almost instantaneous 180 in attitude and began stumbling her way towards the bedroom muttering quietly about dumb men and work. She slammed the door to her room shut, Makoto brimming with embarrassment as Akira just looked at her.

"Please tell me you will never speak of this to anyone," Makoto pleaded.

"I wouldn't want to be on bad terms with my future sister-in-law," he told Makoto.

"Thank you," Makoto smiled, "Wait? Sister-in-law? You're not proposing to me right now!?" she panicked.

"No no no," Akira hugged her, "… someday it'll happen, trust me on that. My proposal to you is going to blow you away."

"Really?" she stared deep into his eyes.

"Totally, but that's still far away in the future…" he looked out the window to The Tokyo Skyline, or what little they could see of it.

"The future," Makoto held on Akira closer, "I wonder what will happen…"

"Only time will tell," Akira smiled as the sun began to set, the two lovers wondering what life held in store for them and all their friends in the days to come.


	10. Epilogue

**4 YEARS LATER**

_BEEP BEEP BEEP_

The alarm blared throughout the apartment as Morgana's eyes opened to a brand new day. As soon as consciousness streamed back into Morgana's being, he remember what day it was and was immediately filled with a deep and dark depression. The bed began to stir as a pair of feet stepped out, the toes wiggling wildly as a series of yawns came from above.

"…" Akira stretched his back as he walked out of the bedroom.

" _Please tell me today isn't the day_ ," Morgana stood up, " _If there's some sort of god please let it all be a bad dream…_ " he walked out of the room to see Akira closing the bathroom door to take a shower. The apartment had become so familiar to him after three years.

The past four years had been a quiet normal life for the gang. Most of them didn't talk that very often, mostly just keeping up with each other over social media and the occasional meet-up, but life continued to chug along as it always did. Akira graduated his final year of high school and all his hard work paid off, he managed to get into the same college as Makoto. The two of them decided that it would be, beneficial if Akira moved in with Sae and her in the cities, Sae agreeing to take some rent money from his parents for her generosity. Sleeping arrangements were a little awkward at first, Sae awkwardly assuming Akira would sleep on a cot or airbed on the floor of their living room, but she understood the love Makoto and him had and agreed to let them bunk together by buying them a bigger bed, provided their studies didn't suffer. Sae was busy with her own career as usual, she had managed to score a lucrative job as a paralegal for a highly regarded firm with Tokyo, hoping to work her way up the ladder and becoming the first female attorney the firm ever hired and dreaming that someday her name would be on the building as a practicing partner, but that was far far off.

The rest of the crew also moved on with school and their careers. Ann was juggling a part-time modeling job and college, pursuing a degree in Fashion to someday follow in her parent's footsteps and even working with them on several shows. Ryuji, who managed to maintain a healthy relationship with Ann, did not attend college and moved into Ann's house. Ryuji had moved from job to job over the past few years from driving a mail truck to working as a garbage man as he tried to figure out what he wanted to do. Currently however, he found a passion for being a personal-trainer for hire within the community and at local gyms. Ann's parents still worried about Ryuji, but Ann seemed to believe in him and thus they had to accept whatever happened.

As for the others, Yusuke returned to the world of art spitting out creation after creation for show after show. What little money he managed to scrape by he survived on somehow, Yusuke was just like that. The life of the starving artist was clearly for him. Futaba was now a "first year" in college where she managed to test out of almost every programming class the school had. Currently, she was taking high level classes around people almost a decade older than her where she was likely to graduate with multiple degrees at the same time due to her skill level. Of course, she still had to slog through her general education classes such as history and geography. Haru was in college for business, working with the company she would inherit; her star idea was a new line of subsidiary coffee shops that were all about a slow mellow experience with fresh ingredients. This was all theoretical and a few years away, but after she graduated she wanted to change the company into something better than what it was, a place with better food, better atmosphere, and better treatment for its workers. Thankfully, she was no longer expected to marry as she waited for Mr. Right to show up at some point her life.

"Ah," Akira walked out of the room in a towel and towards a small setup on the kitchen counter. He had purchased various gadgets and machines that he used in LeBlanc when learning to make coffee to remind him of that adventure, and of course to make the best coffee he could for the three of them. He turned on the burner as he looked through the coffee beans he owned, picking out a one of the more expensive brands for today.

"Morning dear," Akira smiled as he continued to make coffee. Makoto walked out, wearing a pair of light teal silky nightwear and walked around behind Akira, hugging him as she took a big whiff of the coffee.

"Smells good," she rubbed her head into his back.

"Jamaican Blue Mountain," he told her, "Figured I use the expensive stuff considering the day."

"Hmm," she continued to hug him, "I better shower." She let go of him, beginning to unbutton her shirt as she walked towards the bathroom. Akira continued to make breakfast for Makoto as Morgana finally spoke up for the first time that morning.

"Do I haaave to go?" he asked.

"Yes you do, you'll have fun, I promise," Akira placed a small bowl of chicken with a dash of scrambled egg along with a saucer of milk, "Eat up."

"They won't miss me; it'll just bring up bad memories!" Morgana continued to sigh.

"You'll be fine, I promise. Once were there you'll have the time of your life," Akira set a couple plates out as Makoto walked out of the bathroom in her towel and into the bedroom, wrapping her towel around her head as she looked for her clothes.

"What are we having?" Makoto asked.

"Eggs, coffee, and of course a nice bowl of steamed rice," he presented the meal to Makoto as he sat down as well. The two ate their breakfast along with Morgana, a ritual that had become commonplace as they lived together. Sae had already left a hour and a half ago, she never had time for a family meal with Makoto.

"How'd I do?" Akira took her empty plates.

"Wonderful," she smiled as she continued to savor the coffee he made, "You should get dressed though, we don't want to miss the train," she teased him as he chucked the towel at her as he went to get dressed.

"Do you have everything packed?" Akira asked as he got dressed in the other room, "I don't wanna have to buy another phone charger."

"I got it in my purse," she told him as she grabbed said purse and placed it on the counter, "Hop in Morgana," she opened the flaps. Morgana casually hopped into the purse, nestling himself inside to take a nap.

"You got the gift, right?" Akira asked as he pulled out two suitcases.

"I do, it's in my case," she told him.

"Okay," he mentally went through everything they needed, "And your dress and my suit are already at the resort so that should be everything!" the nodded in agreement, "We take the bullet train north for an hour, hop off, take the bus for another half hour and we there for the next three days," Akira and Makoto walked out the door.

"Three days in hell," Morgana muttered.

"What?" Akira asked, "You say something Morgana?"

"Nope, I'm fine," Morgana continued to sigh, " _Shit, time to deal with what I've been dreading for months… Ann and Ryuji's wedding…"_

* * *

"Akira!" Ryuji smiled and ran over to hug his friend, "And Makoto!" he hugged her two, "Thank you so much for coming." Ryuji had changed very little over the past 4 years, still looking like he was in high school with a smooth shaven face and same old hairstyle, although he stopped dying it blonde and let it come back naturally black.

"I had to, best man and all," he smiled, "Where's Ann?"

"Akira," Ann smiled and hugged him as she surprised the couple from behind.

"Hey Ann," he hugged her back. Ann was just as beautiful as ever, wearing a white button up blouse with a sunhat and her old jean shorts, her hair let down all the way. She had been growing it out for the wedding, nearly reaching all the way down her back.

"Makoto!" she smiled and hugged her friend, "How are you?"

"Wonderful," she looked over Ann, "Ann you are absolutely stunning! Truly magnificent."

"I put a lot of work in these past few months. I can't wait for your wedding next year, I'm sure you'll look even better than I do," she laughed as she looked down at Makoto's hand, "I can't believe Akira sprang for such an elegant ring."

"I doubt that very much," Makoto let a slight frown come over her face, Akira putting his hand over her shoulders to comfort her, "It is a wonderful ring though."

"It's a wonderful proposal story too," Makoto brought up.

"Yeah I had to buy this baby myself," Ann told them, "Fortunately engagement rings for males are cheaper than female ones!"

"I would've bought you a nice one!" he told her, "I told you I was looking at one at the time!"

"No you weren't Ryuji," Ann teased him, "Admit it, you were nervous so I took matters into my own hand and I proposed to you."

"When we have kids please let the story be that I proposed to you, it's embarrassing when your girlfriend gets on her knee and does all the man stuff! If anyone saw that I would've died from embarrassment right there in the Ferris Wheel Cab.

"Female Proposals are kinda a thing now Ryuji, just be happy Ann wanted to marry you," Akira teased him, "You're really a progressive guy like that!"

"Eff you," Ryuji moaned as Joker smirked back at him, "Hey man, why you wearing your glasses?"

"I just felt like it," he told him.

"Just don't wear 'em to the bachelor party tonight, it makes us seem… geeky and girls don't like that shit," Ryuji told him.

"My fiancée does though!" Akira hugged onto her.

"I like them too Ryuji!" Ann defended Akira, "What do you think Makoto? He is your husband-to-be."

"…" she blushed, "I like Akira either with or without them. However, seeing that it is his bachelor party it would be respectful to fulfill Ryuji's wishes."

"Very well," Akira conceded, "I brought my contacts… I'm making you dye your hair again for MY bachelor party though."

"You ass," Ryuji groaned.

"So what's the plan for tonight?" Ann asked, "Movies? Drinks? Maid Café?" she giggled at the thought of the two of them awkwardly hanging out at a maid café as engaged men.

"I have no clue," Ryuji told her, "My cousins are planning the whole thing. As soon as we got engaged I got a call from them demanding to put them in charge of the bachelor party."

"Who's all coming again?" Akira asked.

"You, Me, Yusuke, Mishima's gonna meet us at the hotel room they rented, a few of my cousins, and I guess if some of Ann's cousins wanna come they can," Ryuji told them, "They said they had room for like 30 people if needed."

"Are you inviting Ann's father?" Makoto asked.

"Invite my Father-In-Law to a bachelor party?" Ryuji was offended by the mere idea of that, "No way in hell! That man scares me!"

"…" Makoto looked at Akira, "I don't really like this whole concept of bachelor parties. Do you have to have one dear?"

"Of course! A bachelor party is a tradition in any man's life. It's not like we're gonna cheat on you guys, we simply go out, have a few drinks, and LOOK at some girls," Ryuji answered for him, "You guys can have a bachelorette party! I trust Ann enough to look at guys and not cheat on me. You're having one, right?"

"If by party you mean me and the girls have a dinner reservation at an expensive restaurant with expensive wine then yes," she told him, "I don't need to go to The Red Light District tonight."

"Well you could," Ryuji smiled, "I would be perfectly fine with it."

"Somehow I doubt that," Akira muttered. The four continued to small talk for a little while until Akira and Makoto left to check into their hotel room.

* * *

"So what's been up with you man?" Ryuji asked as the two guys sat in the lobby in a couple of chairs, "You and Makoto in the same Law School?"

"Nah, we got into different ones," he told him, "They're close enough that we can still live together, but another 4 years of college and we'll be done and ready to enter the workforce."

"What are you gonna be, a lawyer?" Ryuji asked.

"I don't know… maybe public service?" Akira told him.

"Like a politician?" Ryuji looked at him, "I can't see you as a politician man, they're all corrupt and shitty."

"There's plenty of upper-level government jobs that don't require an election Ryuji," Akira took a sip of water from his nearby bottle, "Plus I doubt I'd survive a day in The Diet, it's a real shitshow there now."

"Ryuji!" a young man ran up to Ryuji, nearly tackling him as he locked Ryuji's head in his arm, giving him a noogie as Ryuji scrambled to wrestle away from him. Another young man quickly ran up behind  
Ryuji and held in place, the two continuing to torture Ryuji as Akira just sat and watched.

"Alright!" Ryuji finally escaped their grasp, "Enough you guys."

"Who are these two?" Akira asked.

"These are my cousins I told you about," Ryuji explained.

"The ones who are planning the bachelor party?" Akira asked.

"Who is this?" his cousin pointed to Akira.

"This is my best friend and the best man, Akira Kurusu," Ryuji told him.

"…" he stared at Akira, "Has anyone ever told you those glasses make you look like that wizard dude from those stupid American movies."

"…" Akira frowned as the two cousins continued to make fun of them, "I don't… sometimes…" he hated when people told him that, "So tell me what the plan is for the bachelor party?" he quickly changed the subject.

"We got this amazing strip club in the red light district, full buffet and party room! Tons of girls!" he was giddy like a school girl, "These girls man are smoking hot! Not a dog in sight! After tonight I don't think Ryuji's gonna wanna get married. So where's the unlucky girl Ryuj? Come on man, I gotta see this Ann girl."

"Yeah man, I bet she's a REAL dog!" the other cousin laughed as Ryuji smirked and looked at Akira, clearly waiting for this moment.

"Sure," Ryuji waved Ann over, "Ann, these are my cousins. They wanted to meet you."

"Ha," his cousin laughed, "Alright, where is she really?"

"Hmm?" Ann looked at him.

"Where is Ann?" he asked.

"I'm Ann," she said.

"Ah… haha," he continued to laugh, "Wait? For real?"

"You're Ann?" the other cousin asked.

"Yes this is Ann," Ryuji told them, "Ann Takamaki."

"Uh, so, uh… Ann," he straightened up, "What, uh, do you do for a living Ann?"

"I'm a model," she stated.

"… A model?" he spoke completely deadpanned, "Like a model model? For…"

"Clothes, makeup, advertisement," she listed off, "One time I did a boat shoot where I was like the daughter on the family boat."

"And you're… uh… white?" he asked.

"I'm quarter American," she smiled.

"So…" he turned to Ryuji, "You are a quarter American model… who is marrying Ryuji."

"Yup," she continued to smile as the two cousins stood in disbelief.

"Wow, I gotta, uh," one of the cousins walked away, the other soon joining in as they quickly rushed out the door. As they exited a familiar face entered the hotel room with a couple of large suitcases in tow with several supplies under both arms.

"YUSUKE!" Ann ran towards him and nearly tackled him in full force.

"Gah!" Yusuke grunted as Ann hugged him and nearly toppled all of his supplies, "Ann!"

"Hey man!" Ryuji walked over with Akira, "Long time no see!"

"Greetings Ryuji, Ann, Akira," he nodded at all of them, "I decided for a wedding gift I would draw the happy couple," he stated as he pulled a paint brush up, "When would you like to do it? The day of the wedding would likely be preferable since you will already be in your wedding dress."

"Oh, well, we hired a photographer to take photos of the wedding," Ann told him, "we don't really have time to sit around for several hours for a painting…"

"You could just paint us now," Ryuji smiled, "We got a few hours before we all are taking the train back to Tokyo for the party."

"…Very well," Yusuke stated, "I shall go set up in your room, what is the number?"

"We can just do it in your room Yusuke," Ann pointed to the reception area, "Go check in."

"I did not purchase a room," Yusuke told them, "I could not afford one."

"… Of course you didn't… and let me guess…" Ryuji sighed.

"I was hoping to bunk with one of you for the wedding," Yusuke looked at them.

"Hell no! I wanna actually get LAID at MY wedding Yusuke!" Ryuji bellowed as Yusuke looked at Akira.

"Makoto is here with me… and Morgana… it's a pretty full room," Akira nervously laughed.

"I got a spare bed…" a female voice said from behind Yusuke.

"Oh Futaba!" Ann smiled, "Wait you wanna bunk with Yusuke?"

"Because I knew Inari wasn't gonna order a bed," she laughed, "Plus I checked the hotel rentals and Yusuke's name appeared nowhere so I got a room with two Queens!"

"Thank you Futaba, your kindness shall not be forgotten," Yusuke smiled.

"Just do me a favor and actually get a room for Akira and Makoto's wedding," she scolded him, "Now come on and we're gonna check in!" she tugged him towards the desk as Akira and Ryuji shot looks at each other.

"What are you two smiling about?" she asked.

"Nothin…" Ryuji continued to smirk at Akira as the three headed back towards the lounge couches at the center of the hotel lobby. As they did a middle aged man entered the hotel which caused Ryuji's cousins to rush across the lobby towards him.

"What now you two?" he groaned as the two young adults charged at him.

"Dad you gotta come meet Ryuji's girlfriend! Like now!" he tugged him along, "So THIS is ANN!" the cousins quickly came back to them, this time leading an older overweight balding gentleman in toe, "Ann is…" he pointed to her.

"I'm Ryuji's bride," she smiled and reached out to shake his hand.

"She's a model…" one of the cousins told him.

"A model?" the older gentleman asked, "Are you two messing with me again? Ryuji, where's Ann for real?"

"I told you all, this is Ann!" he stood up and quickly pecked Ann on the lips, "You see. She's my girlfriend! This is her engagement ring that I bought," he held up Ann's hand for them to see.

"Good lord I gotta sit down," the older man walked away, "World's gone fucking mad!"

"This right here is why it's all worth it marrying you Ann," he grabbed Ann's hand and pulled her in, "Watching all my cousins and uncles and shit eat bird."

"The term is eating crow Ryuji," Makoto sighed.

* * *

"Come in!" Ryuji shouted, "The door's wedged open!" the door opened as Yusuke came in carrying all his painting supplies for their portrait.

"Hello again Ryuji, I was wondering-" Yusuke stopped as he looked around at the honeymoon suite that Ann and Ryuji were checked into. The room was massive with cheap hotel art placed all over the walls with a gorgeous view of the beach and ocean several stories down. However, the room was a total mess with clothes scattered all over the floor and bed, two small garbage bins filled with used food containers and beauty products. Near the corner of the room, the only untouched part, was a mannequin that held Ann's wedding dress, "This room is atrocious!"

"Yeah it's pretty bad," Ryuji was sitting on the floor, shirtless, in front of the bed watching a movie on the large flat screen TV mounted on the wall.

"Where is Ann?" Yusuke looked around.

"Oh she ran off to put on a shirt," Ryuji smiled, "It's kinda hot in here so I told her to take her top off so we were just chilling here topless.

"Ryuji!" Ann came out of the bathroom with a tank top on as she adjusted her bra straps, "Hey Yusuke, you're here to paint us?"

"I figured this would be an optimal time considering we have a few hours until we have to leave for the party," Yusuke set the stand up, "Alright so if you two can strip I can…"

"Strip!?" Ann yelled, "Yusuke what have I told you about nude paintings of me."

"I want to paint two lovers in embrace, how else am I suppose to paint you two?" he cried out as he twirled his paintbrush.

"How about not nude?" Ann asked, "Here!" she pulled Ryuji onto the bed as they sat at the foot, Ann resting her head on his shoulder, "Draw us like this."

"Oh no no no no," Yusuke walked over, "Like this," Yusuke pushed them onto the center of the bed, "Sit across from each other, legs intertwined," he guided them into the position, "Closer… closer," he told them as they were practically a hair's length away from kissing, "YES! Stare into each other's eyes… as lovers!" he went back to his canvas and began to work out an outline as Ryuji and Ann continued to stare at each other.

"Ugh," Ann jerked back, "Ryuji go brush your teeth your breath smells like shit!" Ann pushed Ryuji off the bed as Ryuji ran towards the bathroom, "How is it your breath STILL stinks of garlic?"

"I finished the leftovers from that place we went to the other day!" he told her with a mouth full of toothpaste, "That place gave us a huge plate!" he walked out of the bathroom as he tossed the toothbrush back into the bathroom on the floor as Yusuke sighed as Ryuji went over to Ann and breathed as hard as he could into Ann's face, "Better?"

"Yeah, minty," Ann told him as he got back into position. Yusuke continued to draw the two of them over the next hour or so as Ryuji and Ann continued to sit face each other, staring into their eyes as the occasional bicker came from the two of them. Yusuke did his best to ignore them and focus on his art, the contours of their body, the style of their hair, the tone of the skin, he did everything he could to avoid hearing Ryuji and Ann argue about her parents again and again.

"You done yet?" Ryuji asked, "My ass is falling asleep!"

"Almost… just a touch here, a bit more tone here and… YES!" Yusuke stood up as he admired the picture, "Perfect!" he made a framing motion with his fingers, "This is exactly what I was going for!" he grabbed the picture and turned it for Ann and Ryuji to see, "Well?"

"WHY ARE WE NAKED?" Ann blushed and shouted at Yusuke.

"Don't worry Ann… there is nothing visible that you couldn't see in your bikini," Yusuke smirked.

"You can see the side of my ass man!" Ryuji pointed at himself, "What the hell are we suppose to do with this thing?"

"Frame it, hang it in your house," Yusuke told them, "Else I can put it into a show, I rarely paint humans and this portrait could be a nice intro into that realm of the art world, I have several contacts in the art world who would love to see my work."

"No way!" Ann tore the portrait out of his hands, "We'll take it."

"Thanks for the gift man," Ryuji told Yusuke, "Just… for Makoto and Akira's wedding you should maybe just give… money or something like… a bowl of fruit?"

"A bowl of fruit?" Yusuke looked at Ryuji and began to laugh, "So simplistic, you would never be an artist," he left the hotel room.

"My hips aren't that big, right?" Ann looked at the picture.

"Huh?" Ryuji looked at it, "I don't know… maybe?" he looked at Ann's legs and began to pinch her thighs, "Does it really matter Ann."

"No… not really," she continued to look at the picture, "What the hell are we gonna do with this crap?"

"Well chuck it after the honeymoon," Ryuji told her, "That or maybe give it to an art museum out in Finland."

"You better not, I don't want a naked portrait of me hanging around in a foreign country!" she told him as they broke out into another bickering spat.

* * *

"Alright so what's the golden rule?" Ann told Ryuji as the two were in the bathroom together getting ready for their respective parties after a long and hot shower.

"Just looking no touching," Ryuji was scrapping gunk out of his ears as Ann was applying some lipstick, "Same goes to you too."

"We're not gonna be looking at guys," Ann turned to him, placing her hands on Ryuji's towel, "You're more than enough for me to take in," she pulled the towel down, "speaking of taking in…"

"I thought we agreed we would wait until our wedding night until we eff'd our brains out in this place?" Ryuji pulled Ann's hands away from him, her towel falling down to the floor as well.

"Your body is betraying you," Ann kissed his cheek, "Your more than ready to go right now."

"Well I hate to break our promise…" Ryuji smirked as he put his hands around Ann's chest.

"Ryuji!" a loud knocking came from the door, "It's time to get going man! We got appointments to get to!"

"Ah shit," Ryuji continued to fondle Ann.

"I was hoping to get some of that out of your system before you left," Ann giggled as she pushed Ryuji's hands back down, "Now go and get dressed," she spanked him as he walked out of the bathroom. Ryuji got dressed and headed out the door, all the guys waiting in the hallway for him.

"You ready to get going?" Ryuji's cousin asked him.

"Yeah, I was just getting out of the shower," Ryuji told him, "Stop being so impatient."

"Hey I got a surprise for you, close your eyes," Akira walked behind Ryuji. Ryuji closed his eyes; a couple loud clanks rang out as he opened his eyes to the chuckling group of guys. He looked down, seeing a grey thick metal cuff with a large black ball attached by a chain.

"Ha, that's really funny," Ryuji looked at Akira's goofy smile as he went down to remove the cuff, as he did he realized that it was indeed pure steel, "Where the hell did you get a real ball and chain," he tugged on the chain, "And how heavy is this ball?"

"20 pounds," Akira put his foot on top of the ball, a small key for the cuff tumbling around his finger.

"Just unlock the effin thing," Ryuji reached for the key as Akria pulled it away.

"You gotta walk to the train with that on," Akira told him.

"Ah eff you," Ryuji scowled. The door to the honeymoon suite opened up as Ann emerged from the room. She was dressed in small black tank top along with a pair of short jean shorts with a pair of sunglasses hanging from her hair; back up in her signature ponytails.

"Goddamn…" Ryuji's cousin and the rest of the guys ogled Ann as Ann's eyes were drawn to Ryuji's ankle, causing her to break down in laughter as she wrapped her arm around Ryuji's head, pulling him down.

"Oh that's adorable," she laughed, "Alright, you have fun now… just not too much fun," she kissed him before heading out for her own party.

"Man Ryuji… you scored a quality girl," Ryuji's cousin admired Ann's backside as she walked away, "You lucky son of a bitch…"

"Good morning," Ann said to the other girls in the lobby the morning after their bachelorette party. Their party wasn't anything spectacular, it consisted of Ann, Makoto, Futaba, Haru, a few of Ryuji and Ann's female relatives, and of course the maid of honor Shiho. They went to a relatively expensive sushi restaurant together and had a few drinks before hopping to a couple other bars scoring free drinks for the bride before heading back to the hotel for some rest.

* * *

"Good morning Ann," Haru sipped on some coffee along with Makoto and Futaba, "How is Shiho?"

"She's still asleep," Ann giggled, "She drank a little too much, that's all."

"She's okay though?" Haru asked.

"Yup, she crashed in my bed after throwing up a little bit, I made sure everything was all cleaned up," Ann sat down, "She's not much of a drinker or partier… have any of you seen the guys?" Ann asked.

"Not yet," Makoto looked at her phone, "I tried calling Akira, but no response." The girls sat in the lobby together enjoying the hotels complementary coffee for about half an hour before a few of the guys slowly poured back into the hotel.

"Here comes the lucky man," Futaba looked over at the door to see Ryuji and Akira entering the hotel lobby, Yusuke draped over their arms as he could barely move his legs. The three of them had bloodshot eyes along with a look of complete exhaustion on their faces. Akira's clothes were wrinkled and unorganized, his belt hanging unbuckled from around his pants along with his shoes untied. Ryuji's shirt and shorts had stains all over them and was missing his socks. Yusuke looked the worst out of all three of them. His face was completely pale and his hair was messy. The three slowly made their way towards the couches in the lobby, Yusuke collapsing with a dead man's flop as Ryuji and Akira fell over to the ground, dragging themselves to a couple of nearby chairs. The four women ran over to the three who were clearly in immense pain.

"Uh, hey guys," Ann walked over to Ryuji.

"Oh hi honey," Ryuji didn't even open his eyes, "Let me… let me sleep before we go to dinner, okay thanks?" he blurted out as fast as he could.

"What happened to you three?" Makoto gasped.

"It was EPIC!" Morgana hopped onto the coffee table in the center of them, full of energy.

"Where did you come from?" Haru looked at Morgana.

"Oh I came back here a little while ago after these three passed out," he told her, "I figured Ryuji and the guys could… find their way back here without me."

"Morgana… please…" Akira put his head into his lap, "So loud… too bright…"

"I can't remember a single effin thing from last night," Ryuji burped, "Ah shit I think I'm gonna die."

"Can you remember anything?" Ann asked Yusuke.

"…" Yusuke curled up into a small ball on the couch.

"So none of you remember anything about last night?" Ann asked.

"I remember getting to the club… then…" Ryuji violently coughed, "I got effin nothing."

"Ryuji might have some permanent brain damage," Morgana looked at Ryuji, "Show us the top of your head!"

"What?" Ryuji asked, "Uh…" Ryuji put his head down, everyone gasping as a large red scar was visible through his hair, recently bound up with stitches.

"What happen!?" Ann cried.

"What?" Ryuji shot back up, "What's wrong?"

"Ryuji! You got a huge scar on your head! Does it hurt?" Haru gasped.

"Can I touch it?" Futaba asked.

"I do?" Ryuji pondered aloud, "Huh?" he felt around on his head, "Morgana… did I cut myself or something?"

"You cracked your head open and had to go to the hospital!" Morgana told him.

"You went to the hospital!" Ann screamed.

"They all went to the hospital!" Morgana cheered, "Ryuji had a cracked skull and all three of them had severe alcohol poisoning and had to get their stomachs pumped."

"That would explain the medical bracelet I have," Yusuke held his hand up to show a medical bracelet.

"Can you state everything that happened last night?" Makoto asked Morgana.

"Oh I can explain everything in great detail!" he boasted.

"Please don't," Akira begged, "I really don't wanna know."

"I wanna know!" Ann told Akira, "You three went to the hospital! I told you to have some fun, not get yourselves killed! Morgana, explain everything!"

"With pleasure Lady Ann," he began to recount.

* * *

"Here's the hotel boys," Ryuji's cousin opened the door to a large hotel room, "There's three beds and two couches, the best man and groom get a bed, last one is reserved for if anyone gets lucky, and obviously me and my brother get the couches," he threw a bag down on the ground as Ryuji went into one of the bedroom areas.

"Sweet!" Ryuji jumped onto the bed, "So what do you guys wanna do first?"

"Strip club," Mishima said with a pervy smirk as he turned to the others, "Right?" the rest began to nod and speak in agreement.

"Wait, I got a surprise for Ryuji," Akira told them.

"What is it?" he asked, "Let me guess another goddamn ball and chain."

"I can't say…" Akira had a feint blush on his face, "Trust me, you're gonna love it, but we can't be here for it…"

"Ohhhhh," Ryuji's cousin laughed, "I get it… alright; we'll hit that bar up across the street as Ryuji gets his… surprise." The guys all poured out as Ryuji was left alone in the room. He turned the TV on, watching some dumb show for a few minutes until he heard a loud knock at the door.

"… Ms. Sadayo?" Ryuji gasped as he opened the door.

"Oh, you're, uh…" Sadayo tried to remember him.

"Ryuji Sakamoto," he told her.

"Right," she snapped her finger, "Uh… how's it going?"

"Good good good," he tried to make small talk, "I'm getting married in two days so that's fun."

"Congratulations," she smiled, "I guess that explains why I'm here. Who's the… lucky… lady?"

"You remember Ann Takamaki?" he asked, "She was in your 2nd year class."

"… her?" she seemed surprise.

"…Yeah," he confirmed.

"…" she looked around, "Alright… uh… so I guess you can get naked now."

* * *

"Ryuji!" Ann grabbed him by the throat, "I swear to god if you…"

"I didn't!" Ryuji gasped for air as he tried to wrestle Ann's hands away, "It was just a massage! I was wearing a towel! It was just a massage!"

"It was Ann," Akira told her, "I thought it would be good bachelor present for Ryuji to get a massage from a hot teacher. I use to get them all the time back then." Makoto turned to Akira, staring him down as Akira finally caught her glare, "What?"

"Hot?" she asked.

"Oh god you know what I mean," Akira burped as he held his mouth and quickly shot up, stumbling his way to the lobby bathroom as Ann finally let go of Ryuji's throat. She calmed herself, still clenching her fists as she sat back down.

"Just a Massage," she sternly spoke, "No funny business?"

"No! I swear it was just a massage!" he continued to defend himself.

* * *

"Holy shit man I am effin relaxed!" Ryuji giggled as the group made their way towards the club.

"I know right, I use to get massages all the time after we came out of mementos, she's the best," Akira told him.

"You should've told me about that shit man, I would've killed to have a teacher give me a full body massage," Ryuji yelled.

"I had to keep it quiet you know," Akira explained, "That was just a favor I wanted her to do for you, she's not even a maid anymore."

"Well thanks man, that was hot as shit," Ryuji smiled.

"Welcome to the bachelor party!" he yelled out as they entered the room they had rented. It was two joining rooms, both lit in seductive purple and ruby red lights that dimmed everyone's vision. In the room they were in there was a buffet table set up with a series of plates and next to the table was a small bar tended by a lady in a tank top with huge DD breasts exploding out. The other room was just a carpeted area with a stripper pole and sectional surrounding it, "Thoughts?"

"Tawdry," Yusuke confirmed, "This place is in need of a desperate redecoration." He walked over to a nearby painting on the wall, "This is the type of art they publically display here? Bah, they've emphasized the wrong portions of the female body, a hip can't twist like that, not to mention the lighting is all wrong and-" he babbled on to himself.

"The hell's wrong with him?" someone asked Ryuji.

"That's just Yusuke," he shrugged.

"Guy needs a drink to… loosen up," Ryuji's cousin went over to Yusuke, "Hey man, you wanna drink," he waved the waitress over, "I'll take a beer and he'll take," he looked at Yusuke.

"Hot Sake please," Yusuke nodded.

"Sake!?" Ryuji's cousin scoffed, "You're not drinking that shit here! Get a real man's drink!"

"Tell me madam, what wine's do you have that end in an odd year?" Yusuke asked, "Preferably the cheap."

"Yosuke man…" Ryuji's cousin looked at him in shock.

"Yusuke," Yusuke corrected him.

"Yusuke, just get a beer," he sighed, "Go get some food too… you're like all bones."

"I don't have much money so I can only afford one or two drinks," Yusuke explained.

"It's all comped man, just go eat, we got lobster and shrimp and steak and crab," he told Yusuke, "Really high classed stuff, this is all my gift to Ryuji and his friends," he pushed Yusuke away.

* * *

"Okay so you guys ate some food, that doesn't explain why you guys ended up drinking so much," Ann told them.

"They just drank and drank and drank," Morgana laughed, "Let me skip ahead a couple hours."

* * *

"THIS IS THE BEST PARTY EVER!" Ryuji yelled as he had two strippers hanging off of him, "DUDE THIS IS AMAZING! I WANNA ANOTHER GIRL! THE BACHELOR WANTS ANOTHER GIRL!" the party was in full swing as there were girls all over the place giving dances and flirting with the guys for their hard earned cash. Yusuke was somehow acting like a normal human being as he took shot after shot that was offered to him, somehow coming out of his weird little shell. Morgana was hanging around in the shadows of the party as usual, trying not to be noticed as he looked around for Akira. Finally spotting him, Morgana snuck his way to the bathroom as he saw Akira stumble his way into it.

"Akira!" he whispered as he watched Akira lay his face against the wall as he stood at a urinal.

"Wha…" Akira looked around, "Morgana, I forgot about you." he tumbled around to talk to the cat, forgetting he was using the bathroom as he nearly sprayed Morgana who shouted and ran out the door.

"Akria! You're too drunk!" he screamed as he scurried off.

"Morgana! Here kitty kitty kitty…" Akira made his way out of the bathroom to look for his cat, "Here kitty kitty kitty."

"You looking for a kitty?" Akira heard a voice as he turned around to see a smoking hot black haired cutie wearing a pair of pink cat ears in a matching pink bikini.

"Panther?" he looked at her.

"I can be a panther if you want…" she purred, "Why don't I give you a dance."

"Okay!" he eagerly accepted the offer, "I knew a panther who wore ears just like that! She's really hot like you!" she pulled him along towards one of the many couches up on the second floor of the establishment as she began to give him a lap dance as Akira shoved bills down her pants.

"Akira!" Akira looked over to see Yusuke rushing over to Akira, "Akira! Akira!"

"Whaa-" Akira looked at him as Yusuke sat down next to him on the couch and shoved the woman off him only to deliver a mouthful of vomit right onto Akira's lap before falling back onto the couch.

"AHHH GROSS!" Akira shot up, "There's puke on me!" as soon as he shot up, Akira let out a soft belch too as some vomit flew from his mouth onto the floor.

"THIS IS AMAZING!" Ryuji yelled as loud as he could from the second floor of the club, as he did he was leaning on the railing yelling at anyone he could see about how happy he was. Then, in the blink of an eye, Ryuji's entire body fell over the railing, sending him crashing down to the floor and onto a table, a loud crash rang through the club along with breaking glass.

"RYUJI!" Akira screamed as he made his way towards Ryuji. Akira ran over to the railing, looking down to see Ryuji lying on the ground, falling several feet onto a wooden table. Akira and the others tumbled down the stairs, running over to see a large pool of blood forming around Ryuji's head as his mouth hung agape.

"Holy shit he's FUCKIN dead!" a woman cried out.

"RYUJI MY FRIEND!" Yusuke ran over to him as he began to cry, "RYUJI NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Someone call the paramedics!" a lady yelled, "Is someone a doctor here?"

"I'm in medical school!" the stripper who was just giving Akira a lap dance a few minutes ago ran past them and crouched down near Ryuji and began to take care of him.

"Way to ruin the party Ryuji you jackass!" Ryuji's cousin yelled at him, "Some people take things too far."

* * *

"So they called the ambulance, Ryuji went to the hospital as Yusuke and Akira accompanied him as I hid in the car with them. They were all admitted after Akira and Yusuke began vomiting all over the emergency room lobby and they all had severe alcohol poisoning!" Morgana told them, "They were discharged and brought back to the hotel by a cab his cousin called and they slept till just now."

"…" the girls all stared at the guys like a bunch of deplorable degeneratives.

"What?" Ryuji looked at Ann, "Sorry…"

"You're so lucky that you got actually hurt at the party otherwise I'd be so much more pissed at you," Ann scowled.

"You are not doing something like that for your party Akira," Makoto told Akira.

"No problem," Akira coughed. There was some silence for a few minutes as the guys sat there in complete pain and regret for going along with Ryuji's cousin's plans and as the girls watched the guys suffer their self-inflicted pain. This went on for what seemed like an eternity before Yusuke threw up a bunch of water in front of everyone right in the lobby.

* * *

"Ah shit…" Akira sat at the table with Makoto as the two of them watched Ann's maid of honor Shiho pour her heart out to Ann about her suicide attempt in front of the entire party. Akira looked over to see Makoto wiping tears from her eyes as he dreaded his speech. The wedding went off without a hitch, Ryuji and Ann were happily married in front of family and friends earlier this morning, Ann's hair braided up as she wore the most elegant wedding dress Akira could imagine. Ryuji looked great too in his suit and tie as he clearly married up in life. As Shiho finished her speech everyone gave her a huge round of applause as Ann came down from the table, crying as she hugged her best friend.

"How am I suppose to follow that?" Akira looked at Makoto.

"Huh?" Makoto wiped another tear from her face as he stared at her looking for support, "Oh… uhm… just speak from the heart dear… you'll do great."

"Ugh," Akira stood up as he made his way to the mic. As he approached it he tapped on it jokingly as he muttered, "Is this thing on?" trying to make a joke that was met with pure silence from everyone in the event hall, "Ah crap…" he muttered away from the mic as he pulled out a note card. Akira stumbled his way through his speech trying to be witty and funny, but not trying to offend anyone after the amazing speech the maid of honor just gave. As he failed, Akira made his way back to his seat to finish whatever he had left of his champagne.

"I laughed at the joke about marriage… you know," Makoto tried to cheer him up, "Look on the bright side, no one will remember it in a few days!"

"Wonderful," he poured some more champagne. The party went on for a few more hours as people danced, everyone getting a turn dancing with the bride and groom respectively as everyone celebrated the love between these two people.

"Ryuji…" Morgana poked his head out from under a table as Ryuji was passing by.

"Morgana?" Ryuji looked down, "How'd you get in here?"

"I have my ways," he told Ryuji, "Can you… meet me outside I have something to give you." Ryuji smiled as he continued to mingle with a few more guests before heading outside to see Morgana perched up on a nearby railing.

"You uh, wanted to talk?" he asked.

"Yeah… listen… Ryuji," he sighed, "I know I've been kinda… hostile to you in the past about you being with Ann and stuff and I never really got over it even though I said I did and I want you to know that… I'm happy for the two of you and I hope the two of you have many years together and have kids and stuff… stuff I can't do…" he frowned, "Here," he pushed a small box towards Ryuji, "Here's my wedding gift." Ryuji opened it, revealing a pair of silver cufflinks with the engravings "R + A" on them.

"Thanks Morgana," he pet Morgana who finally let out a small smile as Ryuji made his way back inside to Ann, Morgana spening a few more minutes outside taking it all in. As he did, Morgana noticed as small silver cat roaming through the back of the resort. Morgana looked around before hopping down and skipping over to the small cat who was nipping at some grass.

"Uh… hey," Morgana smile, "I'm Morgana." The cat just stared at him, "Okay," Morgana took a couple deep breaths, "Alright…" he walked behind the cat, "So I just kinda…" he put himself into the right position, "And then I…. OHHH!" Morgana cried out in Euphoria as the fellow cat did as Morgana finally experienced the pleasure of reproduction. As it ended, the female cat curled up next to Morgana as he felt a wave of exhaustion fall over his entire body. As he did, he wondered why he even obsessed over Lady Ann so much when it was just an act, "This isn't bad," Morgana closed his eyes as he spooned the other cat.

* * *

"Ah ha ha," Ann fell back on the bed, "You wanna go for round 5?" she looked at Ryuji as he still was sitting up in front of her panting as he climbed out of bed.

"Yeah just give me a minute that was tough," he walked over to a bottle of champagne they had on ice that was half empty, pouring two flutes for him an Ann."

"Holy shit my body is quaking Ryuji," she giggled as he handed her a drink, "I'm gonna be so sore tomorrow."

"You're not the only one," he joked before downing the flute like it was nothing and kissing Ann again and throwing the glass aside on the bed like it was garbage.

"Ryuji what are you?" he pulled her out of bed and towards the bathroom, inside Ryuji continued to fondle and kiss her as he pushed her into the bathtub.

"Ryuji!" she giggled as he kicked the water on as the two continued to ravage their bodies and make love in the tub, water flying all over the bathroom as screams filled the air.

"I love you Ryuji," Ann looked at Ryuji as he lay on top of her, water around her waist as Ryuji stared back.

"I love you too Ann," he kissed her and took her for the remainder of his life and she took him for the rest of her life.

* * *

_The End_


End file.
